Jan 15 2009
Burning The Candle At Both Ends
I was counseled at a party last night to guard against spreading myself too thin. After 3 hours sleep..and having danced to “Louie Louie” with our Governor(…gawd; don’t ask), I’m pretty sure the drag racing genetic of driving it out of any situation possible is fully ingrained within me. The nature of our sport has been described by our historian-Dr. Robert Post- as an “attempt to find satisfaction, meaning and self.” Ultimately his words apply in my life to politics, small scale agriculture and drag racing, alike.
Jim Wick spent his final 35 years motivating others to seek their sense of satisfaction by assisting Mr. Wick in the physical mobility activity he needed to get his own kicks. Wick passed away this week-but not before winning the ‘70 Nationals and ‘71 Winternational SS/A class titles; which you should understand by now is as cool as cool gets.
His UDRA and AHRA action won thousands of fans all over our country, myself included. I found his simple home track presence at Union Grove to be a symptom of why Great Lakes Dragaway was truly the bedrock of our sport’s heartland history. His Midwest Pro Stock races were friendly and fast. The “Matchmaker” Mopar ethos dignified our sport. Wick never really slowed down. As a professional caregiver, I can tell you he had to have taken care of himself to live as long as he did as well as he did as a quad affected man. How to live fully was his thing.
