The boy showed up at the third-turn crossover gate in the coveralls he wore while racing his go-kart. The security guard recognized him and waved him across the track in the yellow ‘55 Chevy his dad had given him for his sixteenth birthday. Beau Farnsworth was feeling his oats, having won his 35-lap feature earlier …
High, Wild and Handsome, Final Part
On race mornings, Beau Farnsworth always walked pit road, long before gates swung open and fans, armed with their “hot passes,” streamed into the garage. The sun hadn’t long been up. A cool breeze fought in futility against the gathering heat. Down near turn one, Beau sat on the whitewashed pit wall. He knew but …
High, Wild and Handsome, Part Five
Word spread quickly that the great, mysterious Beau Farnsworth had deigned to grace Charlotte Motor Speedway with his presence. It was approximately a quarter to five, and he hadn’t turned a lap since winning The Winston four days earlier. The veteran Billy Hargitson, winner of exactly one race in the previous decade, had dialed …
High, Wild and Handsome, Part Four
The Tuesday-night attendance at the Moose Lodge was nine. Five were sitting around in folding chairs, playing music. The weekly jam sessions were on Tuesdays. The music stopped when Beau Farnsworth and Waddy Adkinson walked in. Beau ordered Budweisers for him and Waddy. He curled a hundred into the bartender’s palm. “How about keeping a …
High, Wild and Handsome, Part Three
On the Monday after he won the all-star race, The Winston, for the third time, Beau was tied up and ornery. He taped a commercial that would be adapted to sell Chevrolets for dozens of dealerships, the worst part was customizing a few words for every damned one of them. “So stop on by …
Still Not Carolina in My Mind
I don’t travel much any more, and I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed my recent nine-day sojourn through ten states. What I expected was that I’d have a wonderful time on the way out to the westernmost terminus, Gainesville, then get antsy and impatient on the way home. What surprised me …
High, Wild and Handsome, Part Two
As Beau Farnsworth reached middle age, he grew discontented and felt buried by the trappings of fame. An argument might be made that the prices were a mite high, but when a fan bought a tee shirt, he didn’t actually buy a piece of Beau. He just bought a shirt. Too many of them acted …
High, Wild, and Handsome, Part One
The boy showed up at the third-turn crossover gate in the coveralls he wore while racing his go-kart. The security guard recognized him and waved him across the track in the yellow ‘55 Chevy his dad had given him for his birthday. Beau Farnsworth was feeling his oats, having won his 35-lap feature earlier in …
Modern Seeds of Discontent
When I was a kid, the president got assassinated. The Vietnam “Conflict” cost the country more than 58,000 lives. Riots left many major cities in flames. It was wave on wave: JFK, Vietnam, civil rights, cultural upheaval, RFK, Dr. King, Watergate, Wallace, etc., etc. Don’t tell me times are hard. For some people, times are …
Songs and French Names, Etc.
I didn’t expect to write a blog today, thinking there was too much driving to do and I’d be either busy or bummed by the time I got to my destination, which is a motel room in Texas. It was, oh, 360 miles or so, which is less than yesterday’s mileage, but yesterday was …
Nightrider's Lament 