My brush with fame…

I'm fairly shy and attending car shows has brought me out of it, well, almost.
I used to even be intimidated in the presence of an awesome Mopar.

I attended the U.S Nationals from 1970-1975. Pro Stock started in 1970 and of course my hero was Ronnie Sox. Well, back then there were no fancy car carriers or barriers. You could just walk up to any car and see them up close as long as you stayed out of the way. I remember spectators kind of hung back and reverently talked in whispers. I took pictures of the cars but unfortunately not with the drivers or crew. Landy was the first to show up with the 16-plug dual distributor setup and I took a picture of it. I remember one crew had shop rags over their carbs to keep their secrets private. We used to cruise around the motels after the track closed at 6 PM. One night we found the S&M team among the many others. There was Jake King under the P/S Cuda after dark. The car was driven part way onto the trailer ramps to raise it up and Jake was flat on his back methodically pulling the caps checking bearings. I laid on the ground nearby and just watched for a while. I wish my buddy had taken a picture as I considered Jake to be as important as Ronnie. Much later I met and got autographs from some of my old heroes, Sox, Landy, Vanke, Garlits, Grotheer, McCandless etc. This year I got pictures with Nick and Paul Rossi and I already had one of Christy Lee. Missed the 1984 Direct Connection girl though.

Now when I come across a celeb I ask if I can get a selfie with them. I don't think I've ever been turned down. I also try to see a lot of live music so have pictures with musicians too. Some acts come to town every year and I see them a lot in the smaller venues. Some of them remember me and we have good conversations every year.

I have a folder in my Photos called Celebs. Nobody has ever seen all that I have and I guess my goal is to print out collages with ID captions. Imagine the surprise when I'm laid out after my last power shift and there I am on a photo board with all these famous people. Haha. The secret is everyone starts out as just a regular person.