Untold Stories ~ Hidden History

 

This morning, I was bestowed a great honor. I was sworn in as one of the members of the board of directors of the Georgia Auto Racing Hall of Fame Assoc. I am looking forward to stepping up and doing all I can to promote the history of the sport of Auto Racing in the coming year, and I will be wide open doing all I can to get the word out.

But today as I sat in on the meeting, listening to this awesome group of true racers, I had the honor of sitting next to Jack Jackson, who holds the Peach Bowl Reunion each year to honor those racers who raced at the legendary Peach Bowl Speedway. This coming reunion will be the 29th one. And as we sat there talking Jack looked at me and said he wants to make it to the 30th one, and then, he wants to either stop the reunions, or turn it over to someone else, he is 89 years old and he said it’s tough to keep it going at his age.

This really got me to thinking, about the daunting task of putting 29 reunions together… I mean putting one together is tough, but to keep something going for 29 years, all I can say is wow… I mean really WOW!

The dedication this man has put into this project over the years is unreal; it's the true definition of passion… passion for a sport you love, passion for a sport that has consumed the biggest part of your life for so many years.  

Then I got to thinking about some of the legends I have gotten to talk with over the years, men and women who gave so much of their life to a sport and still do in many cases. These are the people we need to listen to; these are the ones with whom we need to sit down, use a video camera, and record all they have to say,

These men, well, like Rex White, whom I had on my show this past year. I spent two hours interviewing him, and I was so thrilled how it went, and I was truly humbled and honored that he would come on my show. To my surprise, the next day, he called me and thanked me for having him on! I was like, “No sir, THANK YOU for honoring me by coming on my show” and he made a comment I won’t ever forget. He said “You know, nowadays no one knows who I am; they can look in the record books and see my name; they see photos of me at events but no one knows who I am really, and you took the time to let me tell my story, to share my memories, and that is special to me.” I honestly sat there with tears running down my face. I realized how much it really meant to him to come on the show, and I knew then, that I think I have found my calling, (Well one of them anyway)

Yes, I host a radio show, and I love taking on the controversial topics others are scared to touch. I love telling the stories as they happened, not the cleaned up versions, not the edited ones, but the exact story as it comes out of the mouths of the legends who made those stories. I want to give them the chance to share these memories with others. I don’t want to see another racer take these stories to the grave with him when he passes; stories untold… hidden from the world because these men (and women), who are true legends of the sport, don’t think anyone wants to hear them.

Well, I know I want to hear them. I want to watch each of these men get that sparkle back in his eye as each of them relives the days gone by… to see that smile, that sparkle in those eyes, the same eyes that have seen so much in the years they have been around. And I want to share those stories, to let others feel how proud these men and women are, and to truly let the legends know we do want to hear these memories. We want to hear EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM! And I am going to do my best to make it happen.

Happy New Year to each and every one; I hope the New Year brings you peace and joy, and lots of stories from days gone by.

The dr.

“You can’t change the whole world, but you can touch just one life.”