Sunrise at IMS

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing - Part II - Staking Your Claim

We arrive just as I thought we would at 4:30 (5:30 Eastern). There is zero traffic and we get to the house we park at in no time flat. The house is literally across the street and one parking lot down from the gate near turn 4 where we sit. However, they are not yet up. So we wait.

If you know Dana, you know he's getting antsy. He finally decides around 5:45 that he's going to send me and the kids to get in line and he'll come after us. Off we go with everything in tow except one cooler. (Dana got off easy.) We get in line and must fourth or fifth. Here we are with all this stuff and the guy behind me comments on it. Yeah, I like to come prepared. It was just him and his son, and they didn't have much. I don't know what it was, but there was a loud "BOOM" and I said, "Must be 6:00!"

In we go and off to stake our claim. After we get out of the tunnel we head toward the hill in the straigh away out of turn 4. The guy that was behind us is there and asks if you can see very well there. I said "Not really, but it's easy to get out." There were only about 4 people set up, so we got our spot right in front of the big screen. Dana showed up just a few minutes later.

Only 7 hours till the race starts. . .

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing - Part I - The Preparation

Getting ready for the Indy 500 is no easy task. At least for me it's not. It's not like I just pack a 12-pack of Miller Lite and walk out the door like so many college students do. Oh, no! It's pretty much an all day and night affair.

First, there's the menu. I have to make sure I've covered everyone's tastes so when we get there we don't end up spending a fortune on a Turkey leg! Katie requested a Pizza lunchable. After some resistance, I finally gave in. She would not have eaten otherwise. Cassidy couldn't decide, so I suggested a bologna sandwich. "OK, with mayonnaise and lettuce." Like I don't know how he likes his bologna sandwich. Dana said he didn't care, but there's a particular sandwich that Dana and I usually eat (courtesy of Emeril; the kids don't care for it) and I decided to still make it because it's become a tradition for us. I also usually make potato salad, but decided to pass on that this year because it takes so long to put together and I really didn't feel I had the time.

So it's off to the store. I picked up a few extras, but not too much. Last year we had so much food, it wasn't funny. Nothing like packing it in at 6:30 am only to pack out 80 percent of it. So I decided to scale back. This is what we ended up with:

Sandwiches (both ham and bologna)
corn and black bean salsa
scoops chips
Doritos
grapes (they're good when it's hot out)
chocolate chip cookies
starburst
donettes
orange juice
coke
mt. dew
water
capri-sun

PHEW! And that's just the food and drinks. Then there's everything else!

sunglasses
hats
sunscreen
chairs
blankets
sweatshirts
phones
trash bags (I can't just throw it on the ground)
umbrellas
napkins
cups
baby wipes
tylenol/excedrin
tums
band-aids (I'm not walking clear over to the care center if someone scrapes a knee!!)
earplugs

After only a few years, I feel we're pretty well seasoned. We like to arrive early because we sit on the infield. To get a seat on the top of the hill, you need to be there early. Gates open at 6:00 Eastern. Last year we got there about 6:30 and barely got a spot on the top of the hill. Dana wanted to be up at 1:30 Central and leave by 2:30. That would give us 2 1/2 hours to get there. I told him that seemed to early because it usually only takes 1 1/2 hours. He decided getting up at 2:00 would be OK. When I set the alarm, I decided I'd better make it 1:30. If not and we didn't get a spot, it would be my fault. Don't want to be responsible for that. We finally get to bed at about 10:00.

You know how you're in a really good sleep and you hear something that wakes you up, but when you wake up you don't hear it? That happened to me some time after midnight. I finally realized it was Katie. I go into her room and she said she couldn't sleep. I told her to just lay down because we had to get up soon. She said that made her stomach hurt. Then she said she thought she might throw up.

Dana suggested I make her some toast. Well, if she felt like throwing up, I knew the toast would do it for sure. But I wasn't going to argue with anyone at 12:30 in the morning. She took one TINY little bite of toast and you guessed it: she threw up.

I finally got back to bed at 1:00. The alarm went off at 1:30. In the shower by 1:40 and packing by 2:00. Dana made breakfast, Katie said she felt OK, I packed everything in the car and we were out the door by 3:00!

Stay tuned for more. . .

We Don't Accept Cash

I was just at the DMV and noticed a sign that said they did not accept cash for the Illinois Dept of Revenue. Check or money order only. Since when does a goverment entity not accept cash? Apparently since 4/1/07. I suppose they then send the money directly to the Dept. of Revenue and it would make sense to not accept cash.

Just thought it was weird.

So proud of Cassidy

This weekend Cassidy was at the Middle School Track Sectional in Gibson City. He normally does hurdles, 4 x 100 relay, 800 and most recently the high jump.


His 4 x 100 relay team has been changed so much, they're pretty much screwed from the start. Although he's run with the same 3 boys the last few meets, I don't think they've ever run in the same order. And their hand offs, well, let's just say they need some work. So we didn't expect much from this event. And I don't think Cassidy did either. I think they may have come in dead last.


He didn't do the high jump (I think he was happy about that) or the 800. He was a little disappointed in the 800, but seemed OK with it. And then there are the hurdles.


Cassidy has a passion for the hurdles. I have NEVER seen him so excited about. . . well, anything really outside of video games. He's the only 7th grade boy that runs them and I think he likes that. A freshman has been working with him and I think he thinks that's pretty cool, too.

He came in 3rd in his heat which put him in the finals. I had the camera and decided to record the final heat. I figured if I didn't he would make it to state and I wouldn't have it recorded. If you've ever tried to record a sporting event, you'll know that you're not really watching it because you're concentrating on recording. I have him and the 2 runners on either side of him in the view finder. He says he got a poor start, but I didn't notice it. He was keeping up with the others, but I couldn't really see who was in the lead, and it was all I could do to contain myself. When they crossed the finish line, Dana says, "Was he third or fourth?"

He came in 4th. But I could not have been more proud of him. He also had his best time of 18.7. We headed to the other end of the track to see him. As we went that way, we passed the freshman (Matt Watson, I think) that's been helping him. I heard someone say, "Matt, how'd he do? Did he make it to State?" He replied, "No, he came in 4th." I just wanted to jump up and down and say, "That's my boy!! I'm Cassidy's mom!!" I do wish, however, that I had stopped Matt and introduced myself to him so that I could thank him for working with Cassidy. It might be cool for Cassidy to have a freshman helping him, but probably not so cool for a freshman to be helping a lowly little 7th grader. I hope he knows how much that means to Cass.

We finally caught up with Cassidy and I gave him a big hug and told him how proud I was. I know, probably not the coolest thing for me to do, but he'll appreciate it when he's older. I certainly hope he sticks with this; I've always thought he would do well in Track. Let's hope for a State showing next year!!

If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post the race.

What do you do while driving?

So I'm driving to work today and Jamie is following me. I know this simply because of her vanity plates. Anyway, I notice that both of Jamie's hands are near her mouth. I think she must be eating a breakfast sandwich with both hands. No, that would be silly. Of course! The only logical explanation is that she's flossing her teeth. Yes, this woman was flossing her teeth while driving. So you know she was driving with her knee. Texting, eating, talking on the phone, disciplining your children, putting on make-up, doing your hair. . . but flossing? That's a new one.

True Story

We did a little shopping last weekend. Before leaving the mall, Katie and I went to the bathroom. She didn’t have to go so she waited outside the stalls for me. When I came out, she was standing near the tampon machine. She points to the word “tampon” and starts to sound it out.

“What’s a tampon, mom?”

“That’s something that mom’s and big girls use. You don’t need to know about it right now. I’ll explain it to you when you’re older.”

She gave me a weird look, but accepted the explanation. I washed my hands and while I was getting some paper towel, she says . . . .

“Oh, look! They have napkins, too!”