by richard teague tinynascars@yahoo.com
G’day, howya’ goin’ mates? After all the times I have mentioned my good friend, or rather mate, Pete as well as the lovely Deb, his wife, who live in Australia, many of you know about them by now. I want to share a great experience I had this weekend. First I might need to give my newer readers a little background on Pete. I met him during an auction for a Kenny Schrader #33 Skoal car I had sold him in June of 2003. Now I have sold a ton of things on eBay before and since that auction, but never have I continued communications with a buyer as I have done with Pete.
For the first several months we both learned about each other. We learned what sports we liked, what towns we lived in, about our families and so much other stuff. When I found out he was just two weeks younger than me and had a great wife, kids and grandchildren, I knew we were going to be “mates” as the Aussies say (good buds, as we call them here in the South). I found out later that he and Deb come to the States about every other year to go to NHRA drag races, which gave me the thought that this was my chance to meet them in person. In the fall of 2004 I flew to Chicago to see this bloke I had been emailing and talking to on the phone. When I arrived at our hotel and saw them in the lobby, I just knew it was them. I felt like I had known them for a hundred years.
There was only one problem between me and Pete and that was that I could hardly understand a blooming word he spoke, whereas Deb was born in England and had nice English. Pete seemed to have the same trouble with my Southern speech, so I figured I should talk more Aussie and he should talk more Southern. Three years later, we still fake the Aussie & Southern accent, but we understand each other just perfect. Well, that is as long as he talks loud enough so that I can hear him (I’m on the hard-of-hearing side, but my wife Ann says I just don’t pay attention. Hmm, I think she’s right sometimes.) Whatever it is, we communicate pretty good.
Back to my story and how things lead up to this weekend here at home; a couple of years later, in the spring of 2006, I flew to Portland, Oregon, where Pete and Deb came for another visit to see the drag races in Las Vegas. They take 4 or 5 weeks off at a time and plan a vacation around a big NHRA race and then see the sights of our country. They have been doing this for many years now. Over the last three years or so we have become even better friends through emails, phone calls, and a couple of visits where we share pictures of our homes, families and the cities we live in. They have sent me pictures of beautiful places in Australia, which makes me want to visit the country so bad, and I sent them pictures of me in front of a brand new Super Wal-Mart and inside gathering up diecast cars (which Pete can’t do there, no Wallys).
This year they decided to come to Florida to visit us and then go on their walkabout (actually a ride-about) to see the east coast of the US and end up in Richmond for a big national NHRA race. For months before they got here, we talked about the things we would do here and all of the places we could go, including the Wallys and the good ole Southern eating establishments we have here, then we planned on watching the race at Monster Mile on Sunday. Finally, Thursday got here and you just don’t know how nice it was to see them and start right in sharing things I had gathered for them and them for us. Pete had brought me Australian currency and I had tons of diecast, T-shirts and hats for him.
On Friday I took him around to meet all of my friends and see where I work. Ann took Deb off shopping, which is what wives do when their husbands hang out together, isn’t it? Saturday I drove them down to Jax Beach and then, via the Mayport Ferry and A1A, we went up to Fernandina Beach. Now did you people know that there are no Outback Steakhouses in OZ (that’s what Australians call their country) so we went there to have dinner and to try and find an Aussie that might work there. No blokes from OZ, just good food and no rules or worries.
I have been leading up to the race on Sunday. When you are a NASCAR fan and ya’ got buds that are fans too, y’all gather on race day to watch the race on TV. It is lonely watching a race without your buds and I get tired and sleepy when that happens. This was going to be the first race Pete and I had watched together. I have watched hundreds of races with my best bud John (y’all should know John from my articles) and I said, “wouldn’t it be Great for the three of us to do the Dover race?” Then John could meet Pete.
John cooked some slabs of ribs and I got the rest of the fixins. We all worked together on a big appetite. Well, the ladies watched the race for a while, even longer than I thought they would, and they dang sure ate their share, just like I figured they would. Then it got down to the three of us guys in front of the new 42-inch wide screen, continuing to eat and talking racin’. When you can sit there and share thoughts about what’s happening during a race instead of talking to yourself, it can be so much fun and so many other things. For instance in Australia, Pete says that they don’t have the commercials on TV like we get here, they get other stuff or cut back to the race with no dialogue. Heck, sometimes the clips between laps can be award-winning and also keep ya’ awake.
Can you believe that Pete ain’t ever seen one of those Kasey Kahne ones with the three girls? Or a NAPA Genie making 50,000 filters appear and the 3 of us couldn’t figure out Dale wanting a monkey? I thought he enjoyed the commercials as much as he did the race. He commented on almost every one. Because we all had different drivers we liked, he had plenty to say about mine and John’s guys. But we couldn’t talk about Pete’s driver, he was busy polishing Jeff’s car. Yeah, his guy is Ward Burton, but if Wardie would have been in it we sure could have given him what for. You see, that is a big part of NASCAR, either go to the races with your friends or just sit around the tube, share food and talk bad about the other guy’s drivers (not meaning it at all, just messing with your buds).
That’s what friendships should really be about. Even if ya’ don’t see them all the time, you know they are there. You can call or email the ones on the other side of the world, or just stop by after work and see how they’re doing. You know that old saying about keep your friends close and your enemies closer, that’s BS. You need to keep your friends as close as you can, because as life goes on, you will always have them, but your enemies will go away. Well Pete and Deb are leaving on their trek Monday, and I will miss them like the moon would miss the stars, but we have already started thinking about where we can meet in a year or so.
Well y’all know about tinynascars@yahoo.com, that’s where I am anytime ya’ need me, and I bet y’all also know that, If it ain’t NASCAR, It ain’t s**t!! G’Day Mates!
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