Indy 500 1975: James Garner

The infield at the track as it usually is throughout the month of May, full of puddles.

Track opened this week and it rained here today.
••••••••
These pictures are from 1975.

I told this story about a year ago and posted the last picture in this set then but I recently found these slides and they verify my post from then. So here is the story now with photo support.

You can see the original post HERE.

••••••••••••••

My brother Brett and I had made a couple of cool necklaces from pull tabs off of aluminum cans we found laying every where and a couple of free Salt Walter buttons. (The buttons were free. Salt Walters was not in jail or anything.)

We were setting on top of a couple of 55 gallon drums outside of the pit exit when some guy on the track side of the fence comes by and says "Cool necklaces fellas."

We say "Thanks" and try to look past him to see the cars on the track.

••••••••

Brett on a barrel. It was the 70's so it is probably full of racing fuel.

Me leaning on the telephone pole and Mom with the halter top pointing.
I am looking past Mr. Garner and Mom is explaining to track officials
why there is damage to their fence.

•••••••

About this time we notice our Mom slamming into the fence at full speed.

We don't know what is going on but our Mom is now trying to climb the fence.

She settles down and poses for this picture with a man we do not know.

•••••••

You can see the pull tab necklace around Brett's neck.

You can see here that I am twice as cool as Brett.
I have a necklace and a wristband made from pull tabs.
I also have some nice stripped shorts and my mud boots on.

For those of you who think a pull tab is a gambling ticket of some kind it is but not what I am talking about here.
It was what was on Coke cans before they invented tabs that stayed stuck on the can.
These old type would be pulled off of the can and people would throw them on the ground everywhere.
They would slice your feet open when you stepped on them at the beach and in the grass.
The cool thing you could do with them was to loop them together to make nice jewelry.
You can see another example HERE.

•••••••

After he left we asked who he was and Mom told us he is on "The Rockford Files" T.V. show.

I knew "The Rockford Files" was on T.V. but I always turned the channel when I saw it on.

Dad said he was a cowboy on an older show called "Maverick" but we hadn't ever seen that show either.

Years later. After having this slide blown up to an 8x10 and hanging prominently on the wall of our home I know who he is.

He is a guy who appreciates homemade jewelry and is kind enough to pose with a crazy woman.