Dec. 17, 2007 - Thoughts On Books

I was in an on-line discussion the other day about the books I’ve written, and someone asked what books I’ve been reading lately.

That’s a great question, but I must confess that I haven’t taken nearly enough time in recent months to stay abreast of my reading. I love to read, but with all the stuff that goes on in my life these days—my own writing, hauling kids to school functions, home maintenance, computer maintenance, etc. — I haven’t carved out as much reading time as I’d like.

However, I always manage to have a couple of books going (reading, that is). Some people might be surprised to discover that I don’t read all that many racing books. It’s not that I’m not interested; obviously, racing consumes the vast majority of my waking hours. However, I need to maintain some space from the sport, to preserve my sanity and also avoid getting burned out. Too much of a good thing is still too much, after all. That said, there are plenty of very enjoyable racing books on the market these days, and I do try to get through those that cover people or places that interest me. Mike O’Leary’s book on Rodger Ward was interesting, as was Bones Bourcier’s recent book on Ed Flemke.

I’m more of a text guy than photos, and I’ll confess that I find large books harder to read. It seems more natural to sit down with a smaller book, say in the 6-by-9 range, which is considered more of a reader’s book. But good writing and an interesting subject transcend the structure and size of the book; if it’s good, we are drawn to and through the text.

I read a lot of books on writing. It’s important, I think, to devote some time to improving one’s craft, and writing is no exception. I like to study how other writers work in order to learn from them. Along that line, I recently finished “Write is a Verb,” by Bill O’Hanlon. It’s an excellent book, and I would highly recommend it, particularly for someone who has a desire to write but isn’t quite sure how to get started.

I’m also in the middle of “Cure For the Common Life,” by Max Lucado. It’s an enjoyable book, although it isn’t quite what I thought it was when I purchased it. I was hoping it would offer suggestions on how to deal with the multitudes of distractions that siphon away time and energy from your writing, but it doesn’t address that issue so much as how to recognize our skills and why God gave them to us. Quite inspiring, really.

I recently purchased an enormous six-volume set of Winston Churchill’s World War II memoirs. These are huge books, and very overwhelming. But I’ve committed myself to reading them all by the end of 2008. World War II history is quite fascinating, and I greatly admire Churchill, so the books should be an enjoyable—but daunting—experience.

Another recent purchase is “Wanderer,” the autobiography of 1950’s-era actor Sterling Hayden. Hayden had a very unique and interesting life, and I was surprised to learn that he wrote the book himself, without a ghostwriter. Impressive! This is a book I probably won’t get to for some time, maybe on our next beach vacation when I’ve got a couple of days to relax.

Finally, I picked up a couple of Mike Hammer mysteries from our local library this weekend. Sure, they’re drenched with cheap smut and violence, but I really enjoy Mickey Spillane’s writing style. He tells a great story and always makes you want to turn the next page, which is ultimately the mark of a talented writer.

I’m hoping the upcoming holidays provide an opportunity to catch up on my reading, but I don’t think so. Already I’m realizing some things I’ve got to get done, so any ideas of long blocks of time for relaxation are probably not going to happen.

Oh, well. It’s a little like Pa Kettle when the chicken house fell down…one of these days I’ll get around to finishing all those books!

Dec. 10, 2007 - Even Computers Miss Perfect Score

What was that old saying: “To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.”

The recent Turkey Derby at New Jersey’s Wall Township Speedway brought to mind the old saying, as officials made the difficult decision to amend the finishing order of the event several days after a protest and subsequent scoring audit revealed that the win had been inadvertently awarded to the wrong guy.

Justin Gumley took the checkered flag on Nov. 24 as the apparent winner after a thrilling duel with Michael Bohn. Bohn’s car owner, Bob Nelson, immediately protested the finish, asserting that Gumley was at least one lap down. In the days that followed officials undertook a painstaking review of the race, studying every aspect and using every available piece of information. They concluded that Gumley had indeed been lapped early in the 100-lap race and was one lap down at the finish.

What makes this case so interesting is that Wall Township employed a computerized transponder-based scoring system. After leading the first 14 laps, Gumley pitted under caution with brake trouble. After quick service from his crew he hurried to rejoin the field, tagging the tail. But the race had already restarted, and the field had nearly completely lap 15. Yet the computer somehow scored Gumley on the lead lap, even though he was actually one lap down.

Scoring is without a doubt the most difficult, thankless job in auto racing, and it’s always been that way. I have yet to see anybody drive a perfect race, or write a perfect story, or build a perfect race car, yet we demand that race scorers perform to perfection. Every time I hear somebody ranting and screaming that the scorers messed up, I wish everybody in the sport—competitors, media, track owners, car owners, everybody—were required to spend at least one full night up in the tower with pencil in hand, scoring races. It is a humbling experience, and you cannot appreciate the difficulty and complexity of the task without trying it a time or two.

Some years ago when computerized scoring systems were introduced in short track racing, most of us figured it would resolve the scoring issues once and for all. For the most part, computers have helped tremendously. But what happened at the Turkey Derby is another reminder that, just like people, computers aren’t perfect. Mistakes are still possible.

I give a lot of credit to the officials at Wall Township in this situation. They had the professionalism to take the protest seriously, and the guts to admit that a mistake had been made. It would have been easier, frankly, to sweep the whole thing under a rug, but they didn’t do that. Bravo. And they also did the right thing by providing Michael Bohn with a belated Victory Lane ceremony. It was the best you could do in a difficult situation, and certainly the right thing to do.

Great scorers are few and far between, with or without computers. Next time you see the folks who do this difficult, stressful job at your track, tell ‘em thanks. Chances are they deserve it.

Dec. 3, 2007 - All Sports Are Expensive

I was working out in the gym the other morning, when something caught my eye across the way. On the outskirts of the parking lot was a large bus, with a small cargo trailer attached. This was one of those luxury coaches, although the paint wasn’t tricked out and it was rather sedate looking.

A small sign lettered on the side indicated that this was used by the hockey team at one of our local high schools. I was immediately struck by the thought that such an expensive bus could be acquired by a school just to haul kids to and from sporting events.

My suspicion is that the bus was somehow donated or otherwise supported by either a local booster, or acquired through fund-raising efforts of the hockey club. There are probably a number of people who would object to using such a nice coach, but then again the hockey team makes long, long trips. Most schools in our area don’t have a hockey program, which means these kids must travel several hours away to play.

Standing there looking at the bus made me think of racing, because it reminded me that nothing is cheap in our sport any more. Just getting up and down the road means serious dollars, whether you do it in style with a million-dollar toter-home and nice trailer, or whether you tow your car with a pickup truck. Diesel fuel is well past three bucks these days, motels are hard to find for less than $80 a night, and a glass of iced tea at almost any restaurant is approaching (or already past) two bucks.

We can lament all this, but we aren’t going to do much about it. Yes, a lot of racers use more truck and trailer than they probably need, but if you’ve ever raced out on the road you immediately realize the value in traveling in something that’s at least comfortable. The days of traveling long distances with a small, open trailer are long-ago gone.

The one realm where I lament the introduction of closed trailers is at the local short track. As a kid, nothing got my blood pumping more than seeing a race car pass by on an open trailer. It was the most effective advertising in the world, because it shouted at me: “Come to the races TONIGHT!” I then drove my dad crazy, pleading and begging, all because I was reminded of that night’s racing by a passing race car.

If I were promoting a local track, I’d give a discount at the back gate for everybody with an open trailer. I’ll bet it’s the best advertising money you could spend.

Change comes to everything. As I looked at that hockey bus I remembered long-ago trips with a basketball or football team, laughing and joking while our old school bus swayed down the highway. There were no mp3 players, no portable DVD players, and you passed the time in those flat old vinyl seats by talking to your friends. Even our long trips—maybe a couple of hours—seemed to pass very quickly.

Those are good memories. But like I said…change comes to everything.