Ten of the northeast contingent just came back from Kids' Day at Watkins Glen and I was one of the brave who managed to drive through torrential storms and skirt around a few tornados (yes, in NY) to arrive safely at the motel on Monday night. As I was greeting one of our group already at the motel, we watched as someone backed his rental car right into the passenger side of my NSX as I yelled at the driver to stop. After he tried to get away, we managed to block him so I could get his insurance information.
Needless to say, I was extremely angry and upset that my dentless '96 with 65,000 miles and 15 track days was now damaged. Although it could have been much worse, my frustration and anger kept me from taking any comfort from that fact.
The following morning, we arrived at Watkins Glen and waited for the buses of kids to arrive. These boys and girls came from an area camp where the children are all suffering from several types of and in various stages of cancer. The violent weather we had seen only hours before had departed the area and almost on cue the sun began to shine when the children lined up to get rides in the cars.
I took 2 boys for laps, one just a little peanut of a kid who we recognized from last year and were happy to see that he had survived another year. The second was a boy who had become blind and who needed the help of several adults to guide him into my car. He asked me to describe each turn and the speeds and after only 3 laps he knew when we were in the boot or if I missed one of the rumble strips in the bus stop. I can honestly say I will never forget the smiles and laughter of these two brave co-pilots of mine on July 23rd.
In less than 24 hours, I had gone from feeling unrelenting anger and frustration over the first damage my car had ever sustained to feeling extremely fortunate to be able to drive a dented NSX.
If you are reading this post, step away from the computer for a moment to go hug your kids, kiss your spouse, call your parents or just take a little internet detour and send an email to a friend to say hello. Keep life in perspective, strive to comprehend fully what is truly important and never forget.......................
It's just a car.
Bob
Needless to say, I was extremely angry and upset that my dentless '96 with 65,000 miles and 15 track days was now damaged. Although it could have been much worse, my frustration and anger kept me from taking any comfort from that fact.
The following morning, we arrived at Watkins Glen and waited for the buses of kids to arrive. These boys and girls came from an area camp where the children are all suffering from several types of and in various stages of cancer. The violent weather we had seen only hours before had departed the area and almost on cue the sun began to shine when the children lined up to get rides in the cars.
I took 2 boys for laps, one just a little peanut of a kid who we recognized from last year and were happy to see that he had survived another year. The second was a boy who had become blind and who needed the help of several adults to guide him into my car. He asked me to describe each turn and the speeds and after only 3 laps he knew when we were in the boot or if I missed one of the rumble strips in the bus stop. I can honestly say I will never forget the smiles and laughter of these two brave co-pilots of mine on July 23rd.
In less than 24 hours, I had gone from feeling unrelenting anger and frustration over the first damage my car had ever sustained to feeling extremely fortunate to be able to drive a dented NSX.
If you are reading this post, step away from the computer for a moment to go hug your kids, kiss your spouse, call your parents or just take a little internet detour and send an email to a friend to say hello. Keep life in perspective, strive to comprehend fully what is truly important and never forget.......................
It's just a car.
Bob
