For those of you that know me pretty well, you know how superstitious I can be. I hate the number 13, I can’t stand the color green, black cats crossing the path, or peanuts in the pits. I hold my breath whenever I drive past a cemetary, I believe in putting my shoes on the same way every time, pictures of race car drivers and racing tee shirts will never be laid, hung, or otherwise displayed upside down. These things and more all come under the category of “How Bobby G. is Superstitious.”
I know a good many supermodified drivers who have their own quirks similar to mine that help keep them confident as they take to the track or give them that extra amount of assurance that everything will work out well once they hit the track.
I would suppose that to some, it’s pure folly to think that a color, a number, or a date can dictate the outcome of any particular matter, and in nearly all cases for me personally, as I do my best to put my faith in God, this mentality comes in direct conflict with what I’ve been taught about none of us being able to dictate the outcomes of our lives.
The last several months have been trying for me personally as I struggle to keep this website and radio show going. Lack of advertising, constant technical glitches, changing of staff, and the inability to pay for a way to consistently and effectively communicate with the staff, potential guests, and fans has all contributed to me being all the more aware of looking for a good luck charm, but all I keep seeming to see is the number 13 and whole lots of green, and trust me that green is NOT of the kind that this project needs.
photo by naiadssspring of Flickr Free License Pool
I’m not complaining. Far from it. I feel exceptionally lucky to have what I do, I have a roof over my head, I have enough food on the table, clothes to keep me warm, and a whole lot of friends around me. It would be easy to complain about the proposed lawsuit two former disgruntled staff members are holding over my head, or the fact that we lost an advertiser, or that the multi-media page isn’t up, or that there’s a lot to do and no way to pay to get it done, or that on many days I just sit wanting to write, but have so much on my mind that it’s blocked.
Trouble is, if I sat around and thought about all those things so much, it would make it a whole lot harder to see how damned lucky I am to have had all the great things happen to me that I have and all of the friends that I treasure.
I wonder how many of you could spend less time finding things in supermodified racing to complain about in a chatroom or on a message board or even in your everyday life and spend more time being thankful that we have a division that is filled with wonderful people.
Think about it this way, in that instant when you want to take the extra effort to badmouth a driver, stop and think about another driver that you know or that you like and think how fortunate you are to have that relationship. Stop yourself in time to imagine yourself sitting next to that driver’s wife, girlfriend, mother, father, son or daughter. Now go ahead and say out loud, where they can hear you, the same things you were thinking of saying in a chat or on a message board, how do you suppose it would make them feel? How do you suppose YOU would feel if it were said to you or about you?
I don’t think any of you are that hardhearted to not care. I think sometimes we just forget how lucky we are to be a part of this DIVISION and that if you spend more time thinking about how good you have it and how lucky you are, you’re going to find a lot more empathy and understanding for those that may not have it so good.
I have spent time with some of the most controversial people in the division. These are the same people many like to lambaste on a regular basis, yet when I put them on a platter and present them to the audience, nobody says a thing, The Wailbag stays empty, only a few questions come in from The Wailroom, Bruce Budnick says it’s just human nature, that it’s easier to nit pick than to find something good to say.
I know there’s a few people that read this blog that spend a lot of time being cynical and riddled with skepticism about this DIVISION and the people involved in it. I do a pretty good job of keeping my finger on the pulse of it all and see the things they write and how they try to stir the shit pot. Yet they tend to clam up when there’s something good to talk about. So to those people, and the rest of you, here’s The Wing Side Up Question of the Week
Can you list 13 reasons why you are lucky to be a part of supermodified racing?
Comment below. The 13th person to do so will get lucky with Wing Side Up.
By the way-I’m posting this today so it’s not on the 13th.
[Ever wonder where those stories of racing superstitions came from? Here's a great book that explains a lot of them.]
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About Bobby G
