Sadness...................

This has been a rough couple of weeks for me, in addition to the year anniversary of my beloved and dear Aunt Maxine's death.
As you non-existent readers know, I am a hard core NASCAR fan, and the racing world lost two very awesome drivers who just happened to be really great human beings.
Bobby Hamilton Sr., died week before last. He was truly a remarkable person. Bobby was born to an alcoholic parents. His mother's parents took the boy and raised him from the time he was an infant. He lost his grandmother when he was 13 and his grand-daddy the next year. Can you imagine being 14 with no home? His grand-daddy had been a mechanic and owned a garage. He instilled in the youngster a work ethic that he never lost. Some of his grand-daddy's friends let the youngster sleep in a bunk in the back room of their garage. And this was how he lived. He did odd-jobs to survive. He was a great mechanic, and always racing at the local track. When the movie "Days of Thunder" was in production, they needed a driver who could get on the track, drive a stock car, and get the needed film footage. Champion driver Darrell Waltrip knew Bobby from the local track and recommended him to the people running the team. He wasn't expected to be successful in the car-it was loaded down with camera equipment, just ride around and get the needed footage. Well, he actually ended up leading a couple of laps. From then on, people knew who he was and he got the opportunities that he had worked so hard for. He had just become a grandpa in the past few years, he had won the Craftsman Truck Championship in 2004. He owned a successful truck team. I am just so sad for him and his family. This man was so humble, I really hate that he didn't get to spend more time with his son and baby grand-daughter.
Then this week we have lost NASCAR Champion Benny Parsons. From really humble beginnings in North Carolina, Benny worked so hard to become successful but never lost his humility and was genuinely kind. When his mother and daddy moved north to Detroit to find work, he and his great-grandmother moved back home to Parson's Ridge, North Carolina to a house with no electricity or running water. Benny was liked by everyone and will be missed by more than he could ever imagine.
Two racers from less than humble beginnings, and by all accounts should have had every excuse to fail, but overcame their beginnings with reason's to succeed. We can all learn from their example.