I feel a kinship with the Toad character from the “Frog and Toad” series by Arnold Lobel. Toad makes a list of all the things he needs to do one day, and when the list blows away he is crippled without it. The sensible Frog suggests they chase it, but Toad protests that “running after the list” was not on the list. In another story Frog suggests he and Toad need willpower to keep from eating an entire batch of cookies. The clever Frog feeds the cookies to the birds while Toad tells him to keep his willpower, he’s going home to bake a cake. But in my favorite story of the moment, even Frog doesn’t display his usual character traits.
In “Dragons and Giants” Frog and Toad want to be like the brave people who fight dragons and giants in a book they have read. As they face their fears together – a rock avalanche and animals that want to eat them for lunch – they run away, yelling, “I am not afraid!” They run quickly to Toad’s house and hide under the covers and in the closet, “just feeling very brave together.” I too want to be brave. Did you know that this spring I carried a patio umbrella containing three live mice? You didn’t? Well neither did I. At least not at the time or you can bet your sweet cookies I wouldn’t have carried it.
We live in a woodsy area. I don’t even want to know what traverses our backyard at night. But I do know that after an unusually high number of acorns in the fall, a relatively mild winter, and a wet spring, the mouse population is bustling. Plus, the neighborhood cat that used to roam around mysteriously disappeared at the end of last summer. This spring we had mice in the central AC unit and out in the shed (nesting in the patio umbrella). Up until a few weeks ago, any activity in the house had been relegated to the basement, and we had never actually seen a mouse, just evidence of one. I have a system to avoid them when I wake up early to exercise. I turn on the basement lights but wait a few minutes before going down. I am not afraid, of course.
Things got ugly when we realized there was at least one running around the rest of the house. The pest company examined the bait stations and assured me that it was only one or two. In the meantime we had purchased a couple of glue traps which we left near the dryer. Just in case. Not that there was still a mouse running around. I am not afraid, at any rate.
After many days of nothing, I went to the laundry room to get something from the shelf. Wait, is that a…? Yes, it was. A small, dead mouse on the glue trap. I was so brave (because I didn’t scream). I took my son to school and returned to deal with the mouse. Come on Michelle, you can do this, it’s dead. I put on my latex gloves. You are so brave. I got a plastic bag. You are not afraid. I reached for it, and as I pulled the glue trap toward me, I learned that the mouse WAS NOT DEAD! I am not afraid! Those little legs starting kicking as he tried to run away from me, but his little mousy body was stuck to the trap. I am not afraid! OK, yes I am.
It’s a good thing my husband is so brave so I can concentrate on making lists and baking cakes.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
NASCAR? Really?
I have one theory on why attendance is down at NASCAR races. It could be that there aren’t enough fit Americans to go to these events (more on this later). My family experienced its first, live NASCAR race yesterday at the New Hampshire Speedway in Loudon. Not knowing what to anticipate I formed my expectations based on previous sporting events. But NASCAR is like no other experience…
For starters, you know you’re in trouble when you park your car and you can’t actually see where the sporting event will take place. And it’s not because you paid to park off-site to avoid traffic later…
For anyone who’s not familiar with NASCAR, there are usually two races per year at each speedway on the circuit (although I believe there are road courses that only have one race). So it’s not like most other sports that have several “home games” from which to pick. Also, NASCAR has built a culture of people who travel to the race with RVs and camp for a few days. Needless to say, these speedways hold a lot of people, and they need a place to park.
We walked at least a mile or so to get from our car to the speedway, and then we ascended several flights of stairs to get to our seats which were in row 46 of the main grandstand. No elevators. No ramps between levels. I kept thinking, hey, this is a great workout! We went up and down those stairs multiple times yesterday, and then we walked back to the car at the end of the day. Sure there were a few people being driven around on golf carts, but most people seemed pretty spry and able to get around. And that’s when it dawned on me… perhaps NASCAR races are just too much of a workout for the average American, if all the headlines about our health are true.
The NASCAR crowd is like no other.
I pictured the worst, based on previous sporting events and the fact that “this is NASCAR.” I’ll admit it, I pictured backwoods Billy Bob sucking down a 12-pack of Budweiser, shootin’ off his mouth from his RV. Not so. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen some drunken loudmouth at a professional sporting event ruining the day for the people around him. Yesterday I saw a courteous crowd – no one was pushing, no one was shoving, despite the throngs of people. There was courtesy in the ladies room. There was respect during the national anthem – even the Canadian one. There was little, if any, foul language. I saw no one who appeared drunk. No one threw anything or yelled at someone because he was rooting for an opposing driver.
Even if someone cursed me out, I wouldn’t have heard him.
NASCAR is l-o-u-d. What? I said it’s LOUD!!! You do not watch the race and listen to an announcer. You can barely hear what the guy next to you is saying. So most people wear headsets that are tuned in to race coverage. It might seem odd, but trust me, it helps to have some analysis during the race. Part of NASCAR’s excitement is the teams’ pit strategies and the driver feedback on the cars, and you can’t get that by watching live unless you have audio. Other people just wear earplugs to block some of the sound. And there are a few folks who watch bravely without any ear protection. Regardless, you have thousands of fans sitting closely together having very little interaction with each other. It’s amazing.
As I said, it’s an experience like no other.
First off, NASCAR seems more ‘accessible’ to fans than a lot of other sports. You can buy a pass to walk around in the pits and maybe meet some drivers and their crews before the race. Plus, we had the bonus of sitting in traffic with a few of the haulers who transport the cars from race to shop.
But let’s talk about what draws someone to a live event as opposed to watching NASCAR on TV. Do you know what it sounds like when 45 stock car engines start up? How about when they speed past you at more than 100 miles per hour? Indescribable.
For starters, you know you’re in trouble when you park your car and you can’t actually see where the sporting event will take place. And it’s not because you paid to park off-site to avoid traffic later…
For anyone who’s not familiar with NASCAR, there are usually two races per year at each speedway on the circuit (although I believe there are road courses that only have one race). So it’s not like most other sports that have several “home games” from which to pick. Also, NASCAR has built a culture of people who travel to the race with RVs and camp for a few days. Needless to say, these speedways hold a lot of people, and they need a place to park.
We walked at least a mile or so to get from our car to the speedway, and then we ascended several flights of stairs to get to our seats which were in row 46 of the main grandstand. No elevators. No ramps between levels. I kept thinking, hey, this is a great workout! We went up and down those stairs multiple times yesterday, and then we walked back to the car at the end of the day. Sure there were a few people being driven around on golf carts, but most people seemed pretty spry and able to get around. And that’s when it dawned on me… perhaps NASCAR races are just too much of a workout for the average American, if all the headlines about our health are true.
The NASCAR crowd is like no other.
I pictured the worst, based on previous sporting events and the fact that “this is NASCAR.” I’ll admit it, I pictured backwoods Billy Bob sucking down a 12-pack of Budweiser, shootin’ off his mouth from his RV. Not so. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen some drunken loudmouth at a professional sporting event ruining the day for the people around him. Yesterday I saw a courteous crowd – no one was pushing, no one was shoving, despite the throngs of people. There was courtesy in the ladies room. There was respect during the national anthem – even the Canadian one. There was little, if any, foul language. I saw no one who appeared drunk. No one threw anything or yelled at someone because he was rooting for an opposing driver.
Even if someone cursed me out, I wouldn’t have heard him.
NASCAR is l-o-u-d. What? I said it’s LOUD!!! You do not watch the race and listen to an announcer. You can barely hear what the guy next to you is saying. So most people wear headsets that are tuned in to race coverage. It might seem odd, but trust me, it helps to have some analysis during the race. Part of NASCAR’s excitement is the teams’ pit strategies and the driver feedback on the cars, and you can’t get that by watching live unless you have audio. Other people just wear earplugs to block some of the sound. And there are a few folks who watch bravely without any ear protection. Regardless, you have thousands of fans sitting closely together having very little interaction with each other. It’s amazing.
As I said, it’s an experience like no other.
First off, NASCAR seems more ‘accessible’ to fans than a lot of other sports. You can buy a pass to walk around in the pits and maybe meet some drivers and their crews before the race. Plus, we had the bonus of sitting in traffic with a few of the haulers who transport the cars from race to shop.
But let’s talk about what draws someone to a live event as opposed to watching NASCAR on TV. Do you know what it sounds like when 45 stock car engines start up? How about when they speed past you at more than 100 miles per hour? Indescribable.
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