This is coming really late, I know. Anyway, first, Vernon and I were
e-mailing eachother earlier about making the Boondoggle a charity-type
event, naysayers and scrooges be damned, but I don't want to interfere
with plans of the steering committee and others. I'm sure whatever they
decide to do will be perfect. Here is my perspective, though, as
co-chair of this spectacular event. Boondoggle is so very famous now.
People drive for miles around to attend this most professional of
autocrosses. Last year, only maybe ten people yelled at me, which was a
record. I bet we could generate a ton of loot in memory of E.J.
Anyway, I'd rather talk about E.J. I'm so glad she came to my mother's
birthday party/terrible film screening last May. Several SFR film
critics gathered for an informal viewing of that awful Silverster
Stalone epic, Driven. We sat en masse and ate popcorn and laughed at all
the cheesy moments in the film. I was worried that we'd get kicked out.
Anyway, it was everything that I'd hoped it would be. I had sent out
e-mail invitations, and what most sane people said was, "No way. That
movie is crap," so I was a little bit nervous that maybe it wouldn't be
that much fun.
So, I was pleased when E.J. wrote in, "This movie sounds absolutely
dreadful, and I think I shall have to attend."
I knew she wouldn't let me down!
So many people attended this screening, much to my surprise, and most of
us laughed at all the wrong parts, but her laugh was the most loud of
all. And then later, she led the way to the ice cream shop in her new,
shiny Suburu WRX.
I liked to follow E.J. around, mainly because to me anyway, she was such
a magnet of positive energy. I liked sitting at the registration desk
next to E.J., as I think many of us did, when most of the event was done
just because we enjoyed her friendly company. We could talk about
autocrossing or doing laundry or alignments or stupid movies, just all
sorts of stuff.
But in these conversations, what I got from her was that for her,
autocrossing was a lot more than just racing through pylons. I think it
was a form of liberation. You just don't see that many women
autocrossing, completely. I don't just mean co-driving. I mean out there
driving their own cars, changing their own tires, although I know she
hated that part, and said she'd let anyone co-drive her car for free if
he or she would just change her tires. But I so enjoyed just sitting
with her, and she'd talk about when her car fascination started, and how
she completely has no idea why, it's just something she was "driven" to
do, har har har, and it was just pretty clear to me that this strange
activity was symbolic of her own freedom, her own race. Sitting there, I
felt like this is the role model I've been looking for for so long. She
made me feel so comfortable in my own skin, where I could be just who I
am, and she just accepted me, and the words would come out of my mouth,
and she'd listen and laugh, and the stress and tension of the day would
just disappear as suddenly what was most important was now the most
clear. I'd look at her and think she's so strong and independent living
her life exactly how she wants, and look how happy she is, and see how
she so positively affects others. She's so filled with love, and she's
bringing it out of all of us. You know it's true when changing tires
suddenly becomes a metaphor for life, that all this car racing stuff is
really just practice for something much bigger. That's what I got from
E.J., and what made her work exceptionally magical is that the message
would come usually in the form of painful laughter. I'd just sit and
listen and hope some of it, whatever it was, would rub off on me. That's
the way I so wish I could be, and E.J. did it with such ease.
So, I can't begin to describe my heartache.
Katie
|