I did not get up to see the last night launch but I was awake. I laid in my bed, feeling the earth tremble as the shuttle lifted away. How magnificent is that machine? I will always remember when we had two Tanzanian pastors as our guests at the church. They were amazed by hot and cold running water, the garage door opener, and the selection at the grocery store (among other things). I told them about the Vertical Assembly Building. The interior of the building is so vast that it has its own weather, including rain clouds forming below the ceiling on very humid days. The pastor's response was not what I expected. How difficult is it to believe in God, he asked, when you are able to build a building with weather. How difficult is it to believe in God, I wonder, when you can launch a shuttle into orbit?
In reality, the bigger question is posed in Psalm 8:4 "Who is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Watching the Rolex
Comfortably ensconced in my big blue tv chair, watching the race on SPEED, I can now look back on my afternoon of adventure. Armed with the best advice I could find, Mom and I planned to arrive at the track at about 1:30 for the 3:30 start of the race. Terry called around 12 noon and said thousands of people were already enjoying the pre-race festivities, touring the garages, meeting the drivers and strolling down pit row; activities only available for a limited time before the start of the race and only available to those with a fanzone ticket. I called Mom, suggesting that we head out as soon as we were ready, while it was not raining. Mom and I both packed a thermos of coffee, sandwiches, cameras, phones and umbrellas. We planned to park in the infield but when we pulled in the Williamson infield entrance we were told the lot was full. "Know where the dog track is, ma'am?" I responded in the affirmative, confidently turned the car around and headed to the new Kennel Club. The parking lot was full, no tram in sight, but there were people headed for the entrance so we parked and followed the crowd. We asked a uniformed man about the tram and he curtly said "There's no tram" and returned to his phone conversation. One other couple we asked knew nothing about the tram. Then the light went on...the old dog track next to the speedway. Duh, I felt pretty silly. By the time we parked at the dog track it was raining but that was ok since we had our umbrellas, right? Leaving behind our hot coffee and sandwiches, we had the choice of taking a tram to the infield or walking a few hundred yards to the grandstand entrance. The 
grandstands, a stranger told us, were a good place to watch the start of the race. Next we were told that you could not take an umbrella into the grandstands. Ahh, infield = umbrella, grandstand = seats. Hindsight allows me to say we made the right decision. We took our umbrellas back to the car. Now it was pouring rain. The jacket I wore was water repellent but no match for the rain and pretty soon I was wet down to my underwear. We emerged out from underneath the grandstands into the open and headed for the covered rows, climbing wet wooden stairs with no handrail. Slowly, carefully, Mom grabbed the empty aisle seats to secure her footing. Perhaps due to the lack of pre-race entertainment, spectators cheered her on! Finally, the brightly colored (dry) metal folding chairs invited us to sit down. My jacket felt more like a clinging wet blanket than protection. I was so thankful that mom was warm enough to offer her waterproof windbreaker so I could trade it for my soggiest layer. It was my lifesaver.
The covered grandstands were a good place to watch the start of the race. Terry's team had two cars, starting positions 5th and 15th, and we found them in the line up. After a less that stellar rendition of the Star Spangle Banner, we heard "Gentlemen, start your engines! We had the best view of pit row and two exciting turns. In the first 80 laps we saw fire spitting acceleration, cars spinning out of control, and one car hauled away by a tow truck. It was my goal to stay until dark in order to experience racing under the
lights but I was concerned about us descending the wooden stairs in the dark. So, at dusk, we exited the grandstands to walk along the concrete sidewalk next to the track fence. The noise level there was deafening and the perspective skewed because the cars were so close. They sped by so fast that we could not even pick out our cars. But while we were at the fence, cars 95 and 55 both pulled in for a pit stop and we were able to watch Terry at work. That was our last lap and then we headed toward the parking lot. That hot coffee was calling my name! I got turned around but mom didn't, so I guess she "heard the coffee calling" as well. We washed down tasty sandwiches with hot coffee. The fact that we in the front seats of my car in the track parking lot only added to the ambiance. I was home and in my pj's by 8, already making a to-do list for the Rolex in 2011.
grandstands, a stranger told us, were a good place to watch the start of the race. Next we were told that you could not take an umbrella into the grandstands. Ahh, infield = umbrella, grandstand = seats. Hindsight allows me to say we made the right decision. We took our umbrellas back to the car. Now it was pouring rain. The jacket I wore was water repellent but no match for the rain and pretty soon I was wet down to my underwear. We emerged out from underneath the grandstands into the open and headed for the covered rows, climbing wet wooden stairs with no handrail. Slowly, carefully, Mom grabbed the empty aisle seats to secure her footing. Perhaps due to the lack of pre-race entertainment, spectators cheered her on! Finally, the brightly colored (dry) metal folding chairs invited us to sit down. My jacket felt more like a clinging wet blanket than protection. I was so thankful that mom was warm enough to offer her waterproof windbreaker so I could trade it for my soggiest layer. It was my lifesaver.The covered grandstands were a good place to watch the start of the race. Terry's team had two cars, starting positions 5th and 15th, and we found them in the line up. After a less that stellar rendition of the Star Spangle Banner, we heard "Gentlemen, start your engines! We had the best view of pit row and two exciting turns. In the first 80 laps we saw fire spitting acceleration, cars spinning out of control, and one car hauled away by a tow truck. It was my goal to stay until dark in order to experience racing under the
lights but I was concerned about us descending the wooden stairs in the dark. So, at dusk, we exited the grandstands to walk along the concrete sidewalk next to the track fence. The noise level there was deafening and the perspective skewed because the cars were so close. They sped by so fast that we could not even pick out our cars. But while we were at the fence, cars 95 and 55 both pulled in for a pit stop and we were able to watch Terry at work. That was our last lap and then we headed toward the parking lot. That hot coffee was calling my name! I got turned around but mom didn't, so I guess she "heard the coffee calling" as well. We washed down tasty sandwiches with hot coffee. The fact that we in the front seats of my car in the track parking lot only added to the ambiance. I was home and in my pj's by 8, already making a to-do list for the Rolex in 2011.
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