Let Us Live My Friends, Because:

Daytona from my seat
I take no responsibility for the passage below.  I came across this recently and it impressed me and moved me enough that I thought that I would pass it along to my family and friends.

Now that I have passed the golden age of 65 years old my mortality is more pressing and evident than it was it has been in years gone by.  I have been so consumed with life that I may not have done a great such a fantastic performance of being the best person that I could be in life, that I may not have been the best parent, grandparent, brother, or spouse that I could have been, and that I may have robbed my family and friends of some valuable daylight.

I hope that this passage will speak to you the way that I spoke to me!

On The Day I Die

On the die I day a lot will happen.

A lot will change.

The world will be busy.

On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended.

The many plans I had yet to finish will remain forever undone.

The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me.

All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of others to care for or to discard.

The words of my critics which so burdened me will cease to sting or capture anymore. They will be unable to touch me.

The arguments I believed I’d won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace.   

All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted.

My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway.

Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over; about my waistline or hairline or frown lines, will fade away.

My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to finish anyway.

The sterling reputation I once struggled so greatly to maintain will be of little concern for me anymore.

All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless.

The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived.

These things will certainly all be true on the day that I die.

Yet for as much as will happen on that day, one more thing that will happen.

On the day I die, the few people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply.

They will feel a void.

They will feel cheated.

They will not feel ready.

They will feel as though a part of them has died as well.

And on that day, more than anything in the world they will want more time with me.

I know this from those I love and grieve over.

And so knowing this, while I am still alive I’ll try to remember that my time with them is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I’ll do my best not to waste a second of it.

I’ll try not to squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my sphere of influence.

Friends, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections.

They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating Now with those who love you and want only to share it with you.

Don’t miss the chance to dance with them while you can.

It’s easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die.

Don’t let your life be stolen every day by all that you’ve been led to believe matters, because on the day you die, the fact is that much of it simply won’t.

Yes, you and I will die one day.

But before that day comes: let us live.

Sprint Cup at Phoenix

It’s 1 hour prior to race time this fine Sunday afternoon at PIR. As I make my way over to my seat it is a “sea of humanity” waddling towards the grandstands!

The foot traffic was wall to wall once inside the facilities. The race track is paying tribute to all military veterans, since Weds. was Veteran’s Day. There is a swearing in ceremony for those individuals who were joining the different branches of the U. S. Armed Forces today!

God bless our youth who bear the brunt of our continous fight for freedom. Freedom caries with it “the ultimate price”!

Anyway it is a beautiful day in Phoenix! Now it is time for me to get to my seat, put on my scanner gear, buckle in and pull those belts tight one more time!!

Let’s go racin’ boys!!

P.S. To all my friends and family, who like myself served in the military, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to the USA!

Excuse me while I’M WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
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Phoenix Nationwide

It is about 30 minutes to the drop of the Green Flag for the Phoenix Nationwide race. The pre-race festivities are wrapping up with the driver introductions.

The fans are filing into their seats with great anticipation for an exciting 200 mile race! Kyle Busch could wrap up his first Nationwide Series championship with a good finish at the end of the race.

The bright colors of the race fan’s fashion correct ensemble is a stark contrast in driver loyalities. There are M&M’s logos for Kyle Busch, there are GameStop stuff for Joey Logano/Denny Hamlin, Chevy logos, Toyota, and Ford logos! It is a truly “win on Sunday, selll on Monday”!!
The national anthem is over, the flyby has happenend, give ’em THE COMMAND TO CRANK THE. ENGINES!
Let’s go racing boys!
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PHX NASCAR

It is Saturday afternoon at Phoenix Int’l Raceway and the Nationwide cars have finished qualifying.
The Sprint Cup cars are now scheduled to get on the track for their qualifying session. Unfortunately the heavens have opened up and the rain is coming down! But the rain showers have now ceased, they were short lived!
Today the Natiowide Series takes to the track at Phoenix Int’l Raceway for the Able Body Labor 200.
I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
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Victory Junction Gang: Adam Petty’s Dream


Victory Junction enriches the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun, and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment.

Imagine a place where children with ongoing medical problems can learn, grow, have fun and enjoy a fantastic camping experience. Can you picture it? Adam Petty did. In 1999 Adam and his family participated in a charity motorcycle ride to benefit Camp Boggy Creek, a camp for seriously-ill children in Florida. From that day on, Adam dreamed of building a camp like Boggy Creek in North Carolina for children who cannot attend normal summer camps due to their unique medical needs.

Adam passed away in 2000, but his parents, Kyle and Pattie Petty, took action to make Adam’s dream come true. As they worked at this, Kyle and Pattie became involved with the Association of the Hole in the Wall Camps founded by actor Paul Newman. With guidance from Newman’s program and help from the Pettys’ friends in NASCAR, Kyle and Pattie were able to raise the funds necessary to make Adam’s dream a reality.

Victory Junction opened in June 2004 and this year will be celebrating its fifth year anniversary. Working as a year round camp, Victory Junction serves children, ages 6-16, with a number of different health issues. During the summer, Victory Junction offers weeklong, disease-specific sessions with up to 128 kids per session. During the fall, winter and spring, family weekends are offered and serve up to 32 families per weekend. And, all this is possible thanks to the generosity of corporations, individuals, and organizations, no child or family has had to incur the cost of attending Victory Junction.

Located in Randleman, NC, Victory Junction is built upon 84 beautiful acres donated by Richard and Lynda Petty. Themed around NASCAR racing, the camp echoes the sights, sounds, and feel of a real racetrack! Victory Junction has 42 buildings and program areas, such as Adam’s Race Shop, Goody’s Body Shop (medical center), the Hendrick Motorsports Fuel Stop (dining hall), the Silver Theater, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America Water Park, the Michael Waltrip Operation Marathon Sportscenter, Kurt Busch Superdome, Jimmie Johnson Victory Lanes (bowling alley) and Jessie’s Horse Power Garage (stables and riding arena), there is no shortage of fun and empowering activities!

To date, Victory Junction has changed the lives of more than 10,000 children with chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses and their families.  (Victory Junction Gang Camp)

The Victory Junction Gang is a charity that I hold near and dear.  It is one of the two charities that I fully support and donate to each year, the other is St. Jude’s in Memphis.

Kyle Petty maybe the son of Richard Petty, and had to live in the show of greatness for all of his life.  But what he really may be remembered for will nothing to do with NASCAR!  I believe the legacy that both Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie will be remembered for will be for The Victory Junction Gang Camp and what they have been able to do for the chronically ill children!

It is quite impressive that Kyle and Pattie Petty were able to take an idea that their 18 year old son, Adam, had and make it become a reality!

I LOOKED IT UP SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO!

Camel Motorsports?

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(photo courtesy Leon Hamack)

Breaking News!!

Read my article on the “new agreement” between George Gillett, the primary shareholder of Richard Petty Motorsports and Prince Faisal of the Royal Saudi Family.  It is the first step in Gillett selling his stake in Richard Petty Motorsports to the Royal Family!

Look out for one fast “camel jockey”, here he comes!

Check out my article at:

http://workingonmyredneck.com

Me, Lynard Skynard, and Sweet Home Alabama!

2009 Daytona 500 080

(photo by Leon Hammack)

I have always said that “if I ever get a chance to go to Talladega Superspeedway, I wouldn’t miss that opportunity”!  Well I just got that opportunity!

It is hello Lynard Skynard and  ‘SWEET HOME ALABAMA” here I come!!!

Big wheels keep on turning!

Carry me home to see my kin.

Singing songs about the southland.

I miss Alabama once again,

and I think it’s a sin….

NOW I AM REALLY WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHsDa9_HSlA