Monday, November 30, 2015

Hialeah Speedway 10th Reunion


Saturday night was full of fond memories as I attended the Hialeah Speedway 10th Reunion with my pal and Hall of Fame inductee Skip Gibson. It was great to see Nascar greats Bobby and Donnie Allison along with many past champions and racers.

For those of you who do not follow Nascar Racing, Donnie Allison and brother Bobby are the featured pugilists in a fight that occurred on the last lap of the 1979 Daytona 500.

Donnie was leading on the final lap when Cale Yarborough dropped low in an attempt to "slingshot" past Donnie. Naturally, Donnie tried to block him, the cars got together and wrecked, allowing Richard Petty to go by and win the race.

Afterwards, Donnie and Cale had words and Cale got into a fight with Bobby, who had pulled up to make sure Donnie was ok. The melee was on and later, Bobby was interviewed about the fight. Bobby said, "Cale balled up his face and hit me right in the fist with it."

The Hialeah Speedway Reunion was a collage of old friends many of whom I have known since the fifties. In particular, it was great to see former modified champions Bobby Brack and Pee Wee Griffin, along with racers Marty Handshaw, Buck Gibbs, Teddy Barnwell, Buddy Ryan, Robert Hamke and so many racing greats from the past.


Hall of Fame inductees Dan O'Connell (L) and my pal Skip Gibson.

I would be remiss if I was not to mention the many ladies who also attended including Pat Allison, Judy Allison, Patricia Brack, Joyce Handshaw, Janet Little, Frances Mills, and of course, Dianne Gibson.

It would be virtually impossible for me to name everyone who attended as I knew and/or have seen almost everyone in attendance. I apologize to those that I overlooked.

It was especially great to see my old friend Richard Bowser, along with Kenny and Donald Economy, Bruce Allen Griffin, his brother Butch Griffin and emcee Steven Brack.


(L-R) Bobby Allison, Robert Hamke and Donnie Allison

Kudos to the people who worked hard to put this event together. They did a fine job.

I wish I would have gotten more pictures but between shooting the bull with old friends and the fact that my camera is harder to figure out after three drinks prevented any chance of that happening.
   
Hall of Fame champion Bobby Brack (L) and Alan Carter, accepting the Hall of Fame induction for his father, champion racer Alan "Rags" Carter. 

The News As I See It: I continue to hear Barry Obama mention the 65 nation coalition against ISIS. I certainly would like to see a list of these nations.

This Date In History: 1804; Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase was tried for political bias. 1900; Irish author Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46. 1940; Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married. 1966; Barbados became independent of Great Britain.

1974; The fossilized remains of a female human ancestor named Lucy (after the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) were found in Ethiopia. 1993; The Brady Bill, requiring a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases, is signed.

1995; President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to visit Northern Ireland. 2004; Ken Jennings ended his 74-game winning spree on the game show, Jeopardy!

Picture Of The Day: My long time pal and Hall of Fame inductee, Skip Gibson



Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) I can never tell if a mother duck is being dutifully followed by her ducklings or chased by a gang of young duck thugs. 2) I was considering remarrying the woman I divorced many years ago, but she said I was only after my money. 3) I asked my pharmacist to cut my Viagra pills into four quarters. He said he could do it, but 1/4 of a pill would not work. I told him, "That's ok. I just need enough so I that don't pee on my shoes." 4) Unsure about birth control? Watch my kids for 10 minutes.  5) I like to sit next to a stranger on a park bench, hand over an envelope with a random person's picture, whisper "It has to look like an accident" and walk away..... and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Sagittarius - November 30th: Google is about to take over your life - play responsibly. Your lucky horse for today is Sombrero's Lid. I'm told he's a sure thing, but I've been told that before. Just bet $2 across the board.

Some people seem to take the question "how stupid can you be?" as a personal challenge. Avoid that pitfall. As a matter of fact, avoid all pitfalls.

Birthdays: Jonathan Swift, author 1667, Mark Twain, writer, social observer 1835, Winston Churchill, British Statesman, Soldier, and Author  1874, L. M. Montgomery, novelist 1874, Gordon Parks, photographer, filmmaker, writer 1912, Shirley Chisholm, congresswoman 1924, Dick Clark, TV personality 1929, Ridley Scott, filmmaker 1937, David Mamet, playwright 1947, Ben Stiller, actor, director, comic 1965, Elisha Cuthbert, actor 1982.



The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: An elderly couple went to the clinic and asked to be tested for HIV. The counselor asked why they felt that they should be tested at their age.

The old man said, "Well, we heard on TV that people should be tested after annual sex!"

A student nurse found an elderly gentleman dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet. Since hospital regulations require a wheelchair for patients being discharged, she brought the man a wheelchair. although he insisted he didn't any help to leave the hospital.

After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let the student nurse wheel him to the elevator. On the way down, she asked him if his wife was meeting him. He answered, "I don't know. She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown."


(L-R) Racing champions Pee Wee Griffin, Bobby Allison, Miss Hialeah Speedway (?) and Donnie Allison

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: A psychiatrist is addressing a group of people who have all had experiences with the supernatural. He asks, "Who here has seen a ghost?" Everyone puts up their hands. He then asks, "Who here has spoken with a ghost?" Half the audience puts up their hands.

He says, "Who here has touched a ghost?" Ten percent of the crowd puts up their hands. The psychiatrist then asks, "And who here has made love with a ghost?"

One little man in the back row puts up his hand. The psychiatrist looks down from the podium at the little man and says, "Do you mean to tell me that you have made love with a ghost?" The man replies, "Oh no! I'm sorry, I thought you said 'goat'."

In May of this year, police in Detroit announced the discovery of an arms cache of 200 semi-automatic rifles with 25,000 rounds of ammunition, 200 pounds of heroin.

They also found 5 million in forged US banknotes and 25 trafficked prostitutes, all in a semi-detached house behind the Public Library on Woodward Ave.

Local residents were stunned. A community spokesman said, "We're all shocked! We never knew we had a library."

That's it for today, my little doodle bugs. Remember, what doesn't kill you, forces me to reload.

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More on Wednesday.

Stay Tuned !

1 comment:

jack69 said...

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. I know you guys had a ball. In one of my lives I owned a Roach Coach. One of my best stops was GAtorade Racing in Charlotte, NC. For a period of time Bobby Allison was the chauffeur, and I had the privilege of meeting him. The day after a winning race it was always free tea to the team. To tell the truth I forget the other drivers.
Since tonight is the night, I guess we will get checked for HIV tomorrow. I didn't know about that rule. Thanks.