My apologies

I have to apologize to those of you who read my blog. I haven't posted in nearly 9 months.

Between Mom living with us, Linda's health problems and then Mom passing away, I haven't felt at all like writing anything. No articles for Flat Out, no blogs, NOTHING!! More on that a little later on.

Then, to top it all off, the pissing match between Eagle Raceway's owners and a few of the 360 sprint car people last season ended up getting me wet. I don't know if it was the stress of everything already going on or what, but I ended up leaving Eagle Raceway. Quite unceremoniously I might add. I posted on Dirt Drivers, and that was that.

The owner called me the next week saying "You can't do this to me!". I told him "Yes, I can and I did". Oh, I told him how sorry I was, but that I needed to be with my mother since she had a short time to live. I know that he understood, but it really hurt me to have done it. It still hurts to this day that I did it. I hope that Roger and Michelle can forgive me.

Thankfully, they were silly enough to want me to come back this season. After a long talk with Linda, we decided to both go back. We miss all of the folks at Eagle, more than I can tell you in fact. I suppose we owe going back, partly at least, to Kevin Anderson. Kevin bought us tickets to the Eagle Raceway banquet with the express intent of making me want to go back. Well, it worked Kevin; and thank you!

Going back to my last blog before this; Linda ended up not having heart problems. It ended up that one of the medications that she was taking was messing her up very badly. So, she stopped taking the medications and VOILA!! no more heart problem symptoms.

Mom passed away September 16, 2012. We went to bed the night before and when Linda got up the next morning Mom was gone. 89 1/2 years of vibrant life ended quietly in her sleep. Hard work all of her life, tempered with lots of fun left a legacy that all of those who knew her will treasure.

That brings us to today. As I mentioned above, I haven't written diddly squat since....well, it seems like forever but has really only been less than a year. It's been a LONG time since I contributed to Flat Out, but I'm changing that. Today I got around to working on an article for them. No, I won't divulge who it is. You're going to have to wait to find that out.

I'm also working on something for Eagle Raceway. This is the 50th Anniversary of Eagle's opening season, and I was commissioned to do something about the first 50 years.

That made me think about an idea that I had 2 years ago. I had the idea that a book about Eagle would be a great idea. As I told Dave Argabright "I've lost 2 home tracks already; Capitol Beach and Midwest Speedway with no evidence to preserve their memories and I don't want that happening to Eagle". Yes, Ryan Tunks has the Midwest Preservation Website, but you all know what I mean.

So, that little thought that rattled around in my head for 2 years has bounced back to the front again. I posted about it on Facebook, and the responses were all positive. The people think I should do it. But!! I'm pretty sure that they have no idea what all is involved; both monetarily and time wise. I figure about a year (or more) of research, followed by probably 6 months of writing. Then, I need to find a publisher willing to put the thing out. There it has to be proof-read, I need to make changes, then re-read. After that it has to go to an editor who will tear it apart as they see fit, send it back to me for more changes, then I send it back. Wash, rinse, repeat.

All of that costs quite a bit of moolah, and that's just the beginning. Next comes the price of the actual publishing. I did get a price from one company who said that for an 8 1/2 X 11" book with 50 pictures would be around $4000 for the first 250 copies!! Guess I need to find a third job; but, if I do that, I won't have time to write the book. Heck, between my "Real Job"and working at Eagle, plus making sure that Linda is taken care of, I'm not sure where I'll find the time now!!

Anyway, that catches you all up on what's been happening with me.

As always, please feel free to comment on this (or any other) blog.