At the tender age of 43, I find my journey still entails plenty of enlightenment and education, and lately that rule is as strong as ever. Throughout this blog (which, I know, is way overdue, but it’s not from laziness ... this time) I’ll highlight my various epiphanies of late, and I’m sure that many of you have similar stories to share. Which reminds me: Thanks again to all of you who do actually follow my activities, and I do very much love the positive feedback. For those of you with negative comments, please field those through the Ron Capps’ Fan Club.

Enlightenment: If not feeling good for over four weeks, go to the doctor (especially with a past history of cancer). I did that on Wednesday, the day before leaving for Seattle. The good doctor Spencer (the guy with the long fingers) called me Thursday to let me know that my chest X-ray looked awesome, much like someone with pneumonia! No wonder I felt so crappy since Norwalk! Five days of antibiotics and I’m much better, probably 98 percent (okay, I just randomly picked that number, it’s probably closer to 87 percent).

Other than that, Seattle was entertaining and stressful. Qualifying 14th (and really struggling to find our sea-level combo) really had us feeling painted into a corner going against teammate Matt Hagan first round. Those guys had run great in qualifying, and I really thought we might be in over our heads. In a dual tire-smoker, we were able to get the win light, but I really hope that the Shelor.com team and Matt are able to rally and get into the Countdown program. Round two we ran into that NAPA buzz saw (again) and were parked for the weekend.

Rodger and Karen both raced and though Karen chased what eventually turned out to be a loose distributor, Rodger kicked some butt and went five rounds in Super Comp. I’d like to think it was partly because of my help, but I think that’s why he ONLY went five rounds! It was a blast getting to hang out with the Sportsman racers and work on their cars. My guys won’t let me touch much (other than wiping the car and changing my visors) on our hotrod, so getting dirty -- like the good old days -- was very enjoyable.

The Cacklefest was again spectacular. Thank Steve Gibbs if you’ve ever seen this amazing display of vintage iron, replete with push starts and gas masks. I stood like a kid in a candy store on half-price day. Enlightenment: Safety has come a LONG way since the 1960’s...those guys were iron men back in the day!

I met another cancer friend: Steve Keller, whose brother David had e-mailed me, is going through pancreatic cancer and has one of the most supportive families I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Steve got to ride with us on Sunday and, though he screwed up the tune-up against Capps, we all forgave him. To say that I’ve been able to bond with some of the neatest humans on the planet is a big understatement, and hearing back from so many of you is heart warming. Hearing and reading about some of the thoughts that these folks share is as big a thrill as standing up in the winner’s circle at the end of the day. I have often wanted to run one of these letters in my blog, and Dave gave me the blessing to use his. Please know I didn’t do this as a “hooray, Jack” gesture, but only to show how awesome our sport is and how easy it is to help make someone’s day.

Hey Jack,

Well, it turns out that you were just the man I thought you’d be. A lot of people want to do things for others, but can’t seem to find the appropriate means to do so. A lot of people have the capacity and intentions to help others in need, but don’t. You have reached us all and taught us all a lesson that we will never forget. Love and compassion are meant to be shared with others. I now know how hard you guys work do this week in and week out. Traveling from coast to coast. Missing your families. Your home. It’s not just for the thrill of strapping yourself into a time bomb. Or, for going to the next round. It’s because you love the people you get to do this with. This comes through very clearly. And, Mr. Beckman, it shines brightly through your eyes. Your heart. And, your mind. I wasn’t reallay sure if Steve was physically up for his Big Day, but he gained strength throughout the day, and he left a better man for the experience. I know he will never forget what you have done for him, and he will always think of your successes both on the track and throughout your health adventure as he battles through what he calls his “Great Pancreas Adventure.” Jack, you were placed on this earth for a reason. How blessed you must feel everyday knowing that you make a difference in every one’s life that you touch. Good luck with your new home. Enjoy that precious boy of yours. Be lucky that you have the wife that has chosen you. And, good luck in Sonoma this week. You WILL have lots of people up here in Washington state sending you good thoughts.

Thanks to all of you at DSR! Unbelievable group of people.

Keep it in the groove, Jack.
 
Dave and Julie Keller

Rodger, Karen, and I also got to visit one of the most race team-supportive terminals of MTS while up in Seattle (the same can also be said for the Oakland/San Francisco terminal, which we went to the following week). Another highlight was having dinner with friend (and legend) Walt Rhoades and a group of friends while in the Pacific Northwest. Walt, driver of many vehicles (including the Freight Train), turns up at random events, as his truck-driving job has him criss-crossing the country.

We had planned on taking the RV to Sonoma, but that didn’t work out. With trying to get the new house situated, doing the paperwork for the old house, and life in general, it just didn’t make sense to drag out the old Beaver (really, that’s the brand our motorhome is!) for one trip. Plus, I had lots of media things to do that would have left Jenna and Jason stuck in the RV in the pits. Thursday I flew into Sacramento and began with an NHRA luncheon that also featured Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, and Katie Sullivan (Pro Stock Motorcycle). That evening was the annual Eric Medlen dinner in San Francisco, and the place was sold out once again. Combine that with the Ice Cream Social after the race on Sunday, and much tribute was paid to our departed friend. Fram, one of our DSR team sponsors and also the sponsor of the race, put on a great dinner Saturday night at a local winery. Matt Hagan, Tony Pedregon, Tony Schumacher, Cory Mac and I were all treated great and got to sit, eat, and mingle with many Fram customers and managers.

Though we qualified well (sixth), we got beat first round by what appears to be a resurgent Robert Hight team. We slipped to fifth in the standings after Wilky won for the second weekend in a row (talk about resurgence), and that battle for the final two spots in the Countdown is going to be a real nail-biter.

If you all are wondering what the dollars that are taped to our awning in the pits are for, I’ll explain: We like to have some fun in qualifying, so when we pull up next to Wilky, Arend, or Hagan, it’s game on. First one to the finish line wins the buck, and I brought Bob Tasca into the mix this weekend. Three times we ran each other, and I’m three dollars poorer! Bob even posted a shot of his newfound treasure on his Facebook page...gloating isn’t very nice, Bob!

Perhaps the highlight of my Infineon weekend was having my friend Quinn Coppock come out Saturday and Sunday. We served together in the Air Force and hadn’t seen each other in about 15 years. Sunday he brought his wife, Audrey, her father, Allen, and their son, Logan. After losing first round we hung out in the stands and watched a couple of rounds of action.

We’ve made no less than five round trips (at 83 miles each way) out to the new house to get stuff done. It’s amazing how long it takes to do simple chores when you’re operating with a bucket full of tools and making trips to Home Depot. Throw in a 2-year-old to chase around, and a one-hour project can take three-plus (of course, that could have been said of me when I was single and working out of my garage!). The upside is that my education and enlightenment has been on warp-drive as of late: I’ve learned how the GE Monogram ice maker comes apart (and, fortunately, goes back together).

I’ve also learned (sort of) how the water dispenser system is supposed to work, and that the plastic tank can split, even just sitting, even after less than five years. I now also know that said part must be made of gold and shipped from Mars if ordered through GE (at least I’d assume that, what with the price they want to charge). My internet enlightenment saved me $25 for about 20 minutes of searching. I’ve learned that broken windows are cheap to replace, at least when looking at prospective homes. Turns out the cost goes up significantly once you purchase the house and find out that these newer windows also are made of gold.

I’ve learned that expansion joints, when properly placed, minimize or eliminate cracks in driveway add-ons. Conversely, natural expansion WILL induce cracking without them. Gee, and I thought that whomever poured that slab at the new house would have figured that out all on their own! I’ve been enlightened on the number of ceiling fans that can fit into one residence. Previously I thought that the answer was “one”, but I was way off. The correct response is “seven”, but the old owners were kind enough to leave us with just one. My education tells me that, through simple math, the remainder is “six”, which is the number of fans we purchased through Costco and I now am an expert on installing.

I have been enlightened to the fact that everything can be remote controlled, including six new ceiling fans, but they all must be programmed differently to avoid cross-control issues. I wonder if the universal remote control companies thought about that when making those jumbo units for all your electronics. I am enlightened about garage door remotes as well, as those too were missing from the house. A mere $70 later and that issue is gone. Did I mention that several light fixtures were also taken from the house? Well, those are purchased, installed, and functioning just fine, thank you. All except for the fact that you actually have to flip a switch to activate them, as we couldn’t find any with remote control.

What else have I learned lately, you ask? Well, here are some ramblings that may help you one day: Don’t let your wife measure anything adjacent to the doorjamb, as the clearance there is just enough to get a standard tape measure stuck (hence the term “jamb”). Unsticking isn’t nearly as easy, requiring a surgeon’s touch, a small Allen wrench, and a regular screwdriver (it’s all I had for tools) and necessitated a replacement tape measure. I’ve learned that it’s easy to stack children’s building blocks at least 22 high, but good luck keeping the little one from knocking them over (and don’t get frustrated, it’s what they’re good at).

I’ve learned that US Airways has horrible customer service policies, and their reps actually think that you giving them a $300 credit from an unused flight, plus a $150 “change” fee for a $115 flight is a normal deal. I’ve learned not to try to help Verizon out by calling them two weeks in advance to terminate your residential phone service, as they’ll likely cancel it by mistake the next day, take 12 days to get it working again (two days before the original cancel date), never return any of your eight phone calls with “customer service agents” (the only word I believe in that title is “agent”, as they must be working for some enemy somewhere), and knock your FICO score down by making a “hard pull” (boy, did they give me a “hard pull” all right!) on your credit without permission. Other than that, we are just delighted with their performance. They did tell us they were authorized to offer us UP TO $25 for the inconvenience. I’d like to get that in pesos and take about 12 days bouncing them off the heads of all those bozos that screwed up royally. I’ve also learned that no matter how good looking I am, those safety goggles I was given following my Lasik procedure are NEVER going to look cool on me ... ever!

I have lots more to tell, but we are officially moving starting tomorrow morning (though we already have taken multiple loads to the new place) and the computer will be down for the day, plus I need rest.

Stay tuned.