Turbo Busa Tumble!

Take a good look at Jenn on the turbo busa at the Texas Mile. This is the only picture of the busa in action before it crashed! Looks good, huh?!

We were excited and anxious - Roger had worked on that turbo busa for months - night after night out there in that shop, week after week. Well, sometimes things just don't quite go as planned.

We arrived at the Texas Mile in Goliad on a Friday afternoon. The place was packed with exotic cars, speed racers, motorcycles, landspeed bikes, Vettes, Mustangs...you name it, it was on the Texas Mile that day. Jenn and Roger were able to get the bike through tech and loaded back into the hauler. After a restless night at the hotel, we woke early and headed back to the Mile.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Jenn was sitting in line to make her first pass on the Mile. Roger was at her side and I was at the 1/2 mile marker across from the truck and hauler. Grandpup Chance sat anxiously at the hauler on his tether. How is it that animals always feel our anxiety?

Waiting to run : I watched through the binoculars as they made their way through the line. Finally the time had arrived and she was at the starting line.

Watching the run: There is just no good way for a mom to watch her daughter on a turbo charged Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 trying to make the thing go down the 1 mile track at over 200 mph. But watch I did...breathe - nope, that was not going to happen. I listened to the sound of the engine and strained to see the tiny speck flying down the track. It looked good; it sounded good. I heard her shift into 6th gear and thought I heard a pop. But on she went.

Sky full of dust: I'll just tell you right now that a sky full of dust on the Texas Mile is not a good thing. It began as a touch of dust a little more than a mile away from where I stood. I did not move. The dust cloud thickened and grew monstrously ominous.

Waiting: Waiting on anything is difficult, and seconds can seem like minutes or even hours. I saw the emergency crew heading toward the end of the Mile and in my mind was wondering why. Jenn had finished with her run and even though I could not see her yet, she would be riding up that return road any second. But she didn't. This is where my mind did not accept what my heart already knew. The ambulance lights flashed. Had I breathed yet?

Soon - not soon enough - I heard someone say, "She's O.K." She is alright...what does that mean?! Is she talking? Is she moving? How many bones are broken? Eventually Roger and I were told to bring the truck and hauler to the end of the Mile to pick up the bike. The bike? What about the girl?!

The ambulance approached our Ford pickup and turned in front of us before coming to a stop. We were blocked. The back doors opened and an EMT hopped out, Jenn close behind. She was holding an icepack on her left arm. After looking her over from top to bottom (and getting a look at the tumbled motorcycle) I decided that we were extremely lucky...and grateful. A broken arm - what a huge blessing!

Jenn watches as her dad once again works on the busa...night after night...but not for months this time! We are so fortunate that the damage is fixable - broken arms heal! Bent busa's can be unbent! Broken parts replaced.

The next Texas Mile - October 2007 - she will be back!

Next drag race - San Antonio, Texas, May 2007 - coming soon to a drag strip near you, watch for her to be transformed from 9SecondJen into the new improved 8SecondJen. To be continued...

Now, just one more thing - just when is it that the mom gets to breathe again?

Sir Barky-Butt Chance

Hmmm...this is probably not a good thing as far as Sir Barky-Butt Chance is concerned.

Rumor has it that he had one of these famous collars while he lived in Hawaii. Do you think he knows what is about to happen? And do you think it will help? Oh my, this is difficult - I've had the blasted collar for over two weeks but have not had the courage to put it on him.

But, after a very barky Easter morning, and knowing the house would soon be full of activity, I broke out the collar, installed the battery and tested it...Yikes! - it worked. No barks escaped from Sir Barky-Butt until the two grandboys came bouncing through the door. Then, "BARK!! BArk! ba-rk.... That was it. Although very active for the remainder of the day, there were no more barks while those grandboys were here.

Soon, Chance settled down with his football and stuffed squirrel and waited for his dinner. Down but not out...no sooner had I removed the bark control collar than he was out the back door to terrorize the backyard neighbors hounds - large or small, he has no mercy - Sir Barky-Butt Chance is his name and barking is his game!

Noodles for Papa and Chance

You know those 'noodles' they use at the beach and in swimming pools? They work great! They are useful for other things also - you can cut a slit all the way down one of them and place a brightly colored 'noodle' on a hauler cable to keep innocent race fans from accidentally running into a cable. We purchased two of them to use on our motorcycle hauler - bright green (I wanted pink, but considering that Jenn and I have already inundated Roger with pink everywhere, thought I'd give him a break and get bright green.

Chance always greets us at the front door when we get home from anywhere and today was no different. Roger carried the two green 'noodles' through the front door and instead of just putting them away, he began to entice Chance, who immediately took the bait. Then instead of the normal command, "Chance, DROP!" Roger fell to the floor and began to wrestle the monster Dane! Before I knew it the two of them had that big green 'noodle' in shreds all over the living room floor! What a waste of a green 'noodle!'

On the other hand, I suppose it was worth the $1.50 just to watch a 56 year old grandpa roll around on the floor with his humongous shinning black Grandpup.

The Very Long Grass

It has rained and rained...and rained. Seems that it likes to do this around Easter time. So, Roger and I spent what seemed like hours yesterday afternoon trying to mow down the very long grass that had managed to take over the yard. It had to be done - but why? Because it is supposed to rain some more, of course. Then as I turned from my mowing chore and glanced toward the front of the house, there they were - my beautiful bright orange Tiger Lilies. Rain really is a good thing after all.

Friends? at last!

Grandpup 'Chance' the Regal Dane has lived with us for just over a year, while long time cat and family member 'Adagio' has been around for 12 years or so.

Adagio basically owned the place. He walked around the house anywhere he pleased - the refrigerator, washer, dryer, top of the sofa, between the legs... Then one day literally out of the blue (on an airplane from the Hawaiian island of Oahu) Grandpup Chance arrived. Yikes! What a 150 pound shock to our 9 pound fuzzball, Adagio!

Their first encounter sounded something like the attack of the Venetian wildcats on the massive Martian horse-dogs; and the result was a trip to the minor medical clinic for me! Adagio had lost his freedom. He could not accept this huge noisy, shinning, black monster who had moved into his territory.

Then, one year and 2 months later, as Jenn and I sat at the dining room table and Chance sat on the kitchen floor drooling over our eats, Adagio nonchalantly walked up to Chance and gave him a kiss on the face. As Chance drool swiped across Adagio's face, Adagio continued to be overly affectionate toward Chance. Can this be? Has Adagio forgiven Chance for moving into his home?

Only time will tell...