The month of May in Indiana is the Indianapolis 500. Checked flags are every where and downtown Indy is a buzz with the upcoming race.
The month starts with a mini marathon and end with the race at the two and a half mile oval on 16th Street..
It is a fun atmosphere now but it is not the same as it was in the 70's.
Back then we knew all the drivers. The same ones returned year after year, same sponsors on the same teams. The drivers all had personalities and we got to know them because they were at the track for a whole month. Practices, qualifying. and carburetion day. The whole month was an event and everything buzzed around the track.
Now it is just a shortend monthin and out before he race and they wonder why they don't have the following that they used to. •••••••••••
Here was the driver I always rooted for, Bobby Unser. He is one of the elite seven who have won the 500 three times.
I doubt you find any things as big as the 1/4 inch jack on a race car today. Looks like you could plug his helmet into my amp and jam. It is probably wireless or bluetooth now.
Bobby (Were on a first name basis) is the the one facing us on the left.
The team strapping him in the car.
Look at some other technology in this picture.
State of the art stop watch to measure his lap times and calculate his speed. They probably used slide rules to figure the hard math.
That is our green station wagon in the background.
It was great to go to the drive inns with. You could open the the back like a tail gate on a truck or it could swing out like a giant door. We could lay in the back and watch the movie or sit on the tailgate depending on how Dad parked.
It was great to take on vacations too. The back seat laid down and we put blankets and sleeping bags back there and could lay around all day while Dad drove. You could not do that today because kids have to have a five point harness on at all times. We stood in the back seat, climbed over the seats, we would lay in the floor, and set up the back seat for the sleeping bags among other things all while Dad drove.
The back seat also had a nice feature that my parents used often. The upholstery had piping that divided the seat into three sections. Mine, Brett and Chads and if we crossed our section Dad just "Might have to pull the car over!
Brett, Chad, myself and my friend Todd at the Indy 500 track.
I can't say I remember this particular trip but it has some elements I remember from other trips that we took to the track.
I do remember that Todd's Dad operated the yellow light during the race.
I see some sort of program in my hand.
Chad is sporting a home made T-shirt.
Brett, and I have on out little league baseball hats while Todd wears an opponent teams hat.
Tank tops were a must for track attire as well as the beer tab necklace I am wearing.
I think I made one of these every time I went to the track. Pull tabs have been gone for a while but I bet If I went to the infield at the track I would still be able to find enough to make a necklace. I only say this because I spotted some on the ground this weekend and a touristy place. Am I giving a thumbs up?
We don't normally eat with guns but my daughter said her boyfriend had arrived and then went out greet him. As she went out to bring him in "The Family" prepared to meet him as well.
We prepared by passing guns out to all the men folk.
Adam, the boyfriend, came in and Dad pumped the 12 gauge. (That is an intimidating sound!) And then Dad warned him, "Don't lay a hand on our gal - got it?" Adam replied with a polite, "Yes, Sir."
I think he got the idea.
We have been around guns our whole life.
I have always had proper shooting position for a hand gun as demonstrated here.
I think this is called the "Fife" position.
Brett has more of an aggressive stance than I and Brett still loves guns today. I don't think he is ever more than a arms reach away from a weapon at any given time. Here are a couple of recent links to guns in the family. Here and Here.
Sorry for my absence last week but I was away on a trip.
My boys were on a team that had won our states Bible quizzing and Elaine and I took the team to the National competition which was held at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.
The top picture is Levi and some of the team at a Long John Silvers.
Levi checking in with his girlfriend.
Joel with some of his teammates. The boys at the college after a nine hour drive. Breakfast in the cafeteria. Joel is on the left. Levi with his famous sideburns. Elaine and Joel. The Coach giving last minute instructions to the Bible quiz team.Levi looking nervous before the quiz. Levi and Joel waiting for the match to start. This competition is called jump seat quizzing. The seats have a pad on them that sets off a light at the quiz master table and indicates who jumped first to answer the question.
They are testing the seats before they start the round. Here was the score after our first match. We were on the board but not enough to win. Good thing its a double elimination competition. In the hall between rounds seeing who we compete against next.
Before our next and last round. We were in second for most of the round and lost at the end. In the hall after the second loss. Now a week of watching others compete and to look at the campus. The dating room. It is a huge room full of couches. Going off campus to take a break at a local mall. One of the competition areas. Bob Jones has the biggest religious art work museum in the United States and here are a few of the pieces in this chapel.
These were massive paintings. No photos were allowed in the museum but it was okay to take pictures here, I think. Some of the art competition. This one won for sculpture. This was the winner for oil painting. Elaine liked it because it reminded her of our dog Scooby.
This was a cool paper sculpture.Waiting outside for chapel to begin.Inside the chapel. Over 2,000 competitors from around 37 different states plus the campus students.
Pretty amazing to listen to some of the nation best singers all sing together during chapel services. Levi checking in with his girlfriend. The final three teams in the Bible quizzing competition. Our group. Levi is on the far left and Joel is in the middle on the back row. Elaine and I talking to Megan on the phone. My bunk for the week. These were not built for 6'4 men in their forties. Headed home. We stopped at the original Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky for lunch on the way home. Levi next to an old highway sign. Joel got pretty close to the Colonel while we were there. The group shared their Ipod with Colonel Sanders. Elaine looking at the original kitchen. Setting down to eat between the kitchen and an display of an old motel room that Colonel Sanders had attached to the original restaurant. The van parked next to the huge sign. The kids tried to various ways to climb the pole. Packed in like sardines but closer to home. Levi and a friend climbing out from the back seat.
My Dad liked photography as a hobby and his family made for interesting subjects to capture on film or should I say slides.
There aren't many pictures with him in them so I titled this blog "What my Dad saw".
The rear view mirror header I think summes it up well. I remember Dad saying "I am gonna take a picture of what I see every time I look in the mirror".
This is my families history, thanks for coming and enjoy.
The month of May in Indiana is the Indianapolis 500.
I doubt you find any things as big as the 1/4 inch jack on a race car today.
Bobby (Were on a first name basis) is the the one facing us on the left.
The team strapping him in the car.
State of the art stop watch to measure his lap times and calculate his speed.
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