Just a little break from the racing blogs to bring you some fun from Las Vegas! We were there for the July 4^th weekend to celebrate Frank’s (our son-in-law) 30^th birthday. It was completely and wonderfully planned by our daughter Melaine.

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We stayed at the Bellagio, which has wonderful views of the Las Vegas skyline!

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Vegas has become more than just a gambling destination over the past 20 years. There are amazing restaurants, great shows, and other fun things to do. We hit a little of each. One night we ate at Aureole, a restaurant in the Mandalay Bay hotel, that is famous not only for its great food but for its Wine Angels. There’s a 4 story tall, 10,000 bottle wine structure (can’t call it a cellar!). To retrieve wines, the Wine Angels (stewards) are hoisted up on wires! Also cool was the electronic wine list they put on a little notebook computer.....

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We went to see the Cirque de Soleil show “O.” In case you don’t know this company, they do all the amazing high wire acts and other feats of gymnastic amazement and strength.....

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Yes, we enjoyed the Las Vegas nightlife, going to Pure and to the Pussycat Doll Lounge. (No, it’s not filled with naked girls. It’s fashioned after the singing group and they perform their songs there.) No stories, just pictures. (Remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!)....

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The most unusual event on our trip was skydiving! Melaine had originally planned for us to do indoor skydiving (where you’re held a few feet off the ground by a big upward-blowing fan). But I persuaded her to make it the real thing instead! (No, Carol wouldn't even come up in the plane with us. She said she was terrified of the idea of us jumping out the door! LOL) Of course, there was a ridiculous limo involved and tons of disclaimers to sign. The experience can’t be expressed well in either words or pictures, so here’s a video of the real thing!....

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Las Vegas Skydiving
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I did some skydiving in the olden days, when we used surplus military parachutes and had those smash-and-roll kinds of landings, like in the old military movies. So this was nothing new for me. But it was very cool to jump with a modern chute that’s so maneuverable!....

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After the adrenaline rush, Frank had to ham it up on the stripper pole in the limo!....

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So, we’re back safe and sound—and off to Canada to race! I’m so far behind on blogs (I haven’t done the Lime Rock race or completed my Decades series). I’ll get there at some point! In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this and also had a great holiday weekend! Catch you soon. xoxo

I was recently in a downtown area that was nearly overrun with homeless people. I haven't seen so many in any one area since living in San Francisco. I just had to share some thoughts with you. Not my usual style but it had to come out. xoxo

 

You—who are you anyway?

Sitting on the corner, in a doorway

You're someone's child

But tonight you're alone

Maybe not even clearly with yourself

 

Talking, or is it talking when no one listens?

Did you ask me something? Why did I cringe?

I want to walk away, but you're on the next corner too

And across the street—there are two of you there

 

I have it all, you have nothing

Embarrassed, I look away, walk faster

To my expensive dinner ahead with nice wine

I can't help everyone! Who to choose?

Why do I have to play God and decide?
Who gets to eat tonight? Who could buy some safety?

Who can avoid a bad hand tonight?

 

Young girl, I feel for you here

Old man playing an instrument

Why don't I respond to you?

You're trying to entertain me

But my heart goes out to her

I give enough to make a difference tonight

Or maybe for a few days

Just delaying an ache that comes back

Fruitless, stupid, a waste

Or compassion for a wasted life?

 

We can't be human and just walk by

But we do, every day

Maybe we're the crazy ones

Not fitting in the home of the world

I want to fix it all—impossible

But I can fix a little for one at a time

Once in a while

 

Not enough, ever

Something is better than nothing

Must keep from being numb again

 

I'll take a brief break from the Decades series to post our 2009 racing schedule. We've enjoyed meeting so many myspacers over the past few years at these events. I hope you'll consider coming out to one (or more!).

I'll be racing in two series in 2009. The Historic Grand Prix (HGP) series is the one that races in the U.S. and Canada and has Formula One cars from the '70s and '80s.

Our main ride for the east coast events will probably be the Ensign N-179, affectionately known as "Cinderella."

I think we'll leave her on the east coast rather than hauling back to the team base in California after every race. (When you see the schedule, you'll understand why!)

For Canada and California, we'll use the Ferrari 312 T5, "The Princess." They love this car in Canada because it was formerly driven by one of their national racing heros, Gilles Villeneuve. Yes, that's me on the billboard!

The Ferrari F1 Cliente (Cliente) series is international and will be new for us in 2009. We'll use the ex-Michael Schumacher Ferrari F310B that we bought in August and it will be supported by the Ferrari factory mechanics.

We will only run a selected set of the international events due to the economy and its impact on our racing program.

So, get out your calendars and see where you can join us!

February 21-22, Kyalami circuit (South Africa) (Cliente)--we'll miss this one because I won't be healed from my back surgery yet.

March 14-15, Mexico City with the A1 Grand Prix league (Cliente)--we'll miss this one too, still won't be healed.

April 3-5, Savannah, GA (HGP)--this will be a race through the streets of Hutchinson Island. Way cool!

April 11-12, Algarve circuit (Portugal) (Cliente)--this should be our first international race and our first outing in the new Ferrari F310B.

May 9-10, Fuji circuit (Japan) (Cliente)--I don't think we'll head all the way to Asia for this weekend. Just too expensive.

May 22-25, Lime Rock Park circuit. CT (HGP)--this is the Memorial Day weekend. Should be a nice event and it's our first time at this track.

May 16-17, Imola (Italy) (Cliente)--This will probably be a very cool event! And the Ferrari team will be on "home turf" with tons of fans!

June 13-14, Zhuhai (China) (Cliente)--We will skip this one too, just too far and expensive.

July 10-12, Mont-Tremblant circuit (outside of Montreal, Canada) (HGP)--This is a gorgeous place to go and we stay in Tremblant, a little "Disney" type village that's a ski resort in the winter. We'll race the Villeneuve Ferrari here, of course.

July 17-19, Road America circuit (Elkhart Lake, WI) (HGP)--We love this track but have a conflict that weekend with another non-racing event on the east coast! So, we'll miss it this year!

August 21-23, Infineon circuit (Sonoma, CA) (HGP)--This has traditionally been our biggest MySpace gathering weekend. Hope to see many of you again! And I hope the Ferrari will perform well for a change!

September 5-6, Brno (Czech Republic) (Cliente)--We'll see about this one but probably less than 50% that we'll do it.

September 26-27, Valencia (Spain) (Cliente)--This is another street circuit and should be very cool!

October 2-4, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Milville, NJ (HGP)--This is a new circuit that opened in 2008. Will be our first time there.

November 7-8, TBD but probably Italy (Cliente)--This will be the World Finals for the Cliente series. We'll determine whether we're going after we see where it is for sure.

Lots of great opportunites to meet up! Hope to see you out there, somewhere. xoxo

We're continuing through the decades and have reached Decade 3: Age 20-29, Decade of Professional Development! If you're a new reader, you might want to go back to Decade 1 and Decade 2 first!

Facts: At Georgia Tech, I held leadership positions in every major campus organization and was elected President of my fraternity as a Sophomore, because we were nearly bankrupt, with a foreclosure notice tacked to the door of our house. Yes, we turned it around in 18 months and won a national award as a result. I also played college soccer and bowling.

I wanted to go to business school for my MBA, but even back then, all the top schools required 2-3 years of work experience. Armed with a leadership track record, great GPA, and rocking GMAT test score, I applied to the top 4 schools and got into 3. I chose to go to Harvard because of its global reputation and focus on general management and strategy. I was one of literally one handful of people who were admitted direct from undergrad school.

Carol and I survived the long distance relationship for the 4 years of college







In the summer between graduating from Georgia Tech and starting at HBS, we got married in Carol's hometown in Florida. A week later, we were in Boston starting our summer jobs! She graduated as a nurse and was the breadwinner while I was in school.







I enjoyed all the MBA disciplines and couldn't choose between them. So, when I graduated, I went into management consulting, where you use a broad set of skills and disciplines to solve tough client problems. I focused on strategy around energy and environment issues, since my senior engineering project had been about converting coal to oil.







Despite my lack of work experience (again), I was hired into Booz, Allen & Hamilton (now Booz & Company), one of the world's leading strategy firms. In the middle of the second oil crisis, I developed energy policy papers on alternative fuels and became an expert in advanced energy technologies. My client work covered global companies based in the U.S. and Europe. Seeing an opportunity to boost our energy business in the western half of the U.S., I agreed to move from DC to San Francisco at the end of this decade of my life. California is the beginning of another chapter!

My car craziness continued. We bought a Lotus when I graduated from business school. Then, at 26, I bought my first Ferrari (and I bought Carol a grand piano).







We had hardly any furniture in our house so put the piano in the dining room! LOL I also started some amateur racing and ended up being 4th in the country in my class! So I figured there might be a racing future for me. More about that in the next decade.

Just before the end of this decade, we had our daughter, Melaine! This was the transition from a couple to a family. Trying to balance work, life, and family is a challenge everyone faces, and we were no different.







Carol went to part time work after Melaine was born then she decided to stay home after we moved to California. Fortunately, I was promoted and my raise more than covered her lost income.

Feelings: Harvard was incredibly intense with a forced curve, which ensured that 5% -10% of the class would be asked to leave, in both years! There were a couple of suicides. People disappeared. It was grueling. But each of us felt we were failing so we were all about equal! LOL The only outlet I had for keeping my sanity was playing on the school Rugby Team! We were so poor we could have gotten food stamps. Every Saturday, we would go out for either pizza or cheesecake (but couldn't afford both).

Solving the tough management problems for business was a rush and a great challenge. They only hire consultants when they can't solve the issue themselves. Pressure! But also great psychological reward for cracking the code!

Favorite Memories: Being in the middle of helping solve the country's second energy crisis through policy, strategy, and innovative technology. Being in a near-fatal head-on collision and, after reflection, realizing that we were too self-absorbed and not doing enough to help and serve other people. Discovering we had lost our BMW, Lotus, and Ferrari in a fiery cross-country transporter crash—so we arrived on the west coast with no cars! Made it a lot easier to give up material things—stuff is just stuff, it can always be replaced, and it's not that important.

Findings: I am fearless and relentless to go after what I want, despite the odds. People and relationships are more important than things. The legacy you leave behind will be memories that others have of you, lives you've changed or impacted, and your thumbprint on important events. In contrast, no one will remember the stuff you left or the little bit of money that got distributed. Hard work and effort will pay off, at some point. And, without it, you'll never achieve your full potential in anything you do. A baby totally changes your life, forever. It's the ultimate responsibility, more challenging than any business problem!

xoxo

If you're just joining in for this "Decades" series on my life, you might want to go back to Decade 1 before reading this one! Decade 2: Age 10-19 opens with our family living in Tokyo, Japan. This is the Decade of Personal Development.

Facts: Unless you saw me on the David Letterman show a couple of years ago or know me very well in real life, you probably didn't know that I was a national TV star in Japan! For 3 seasons, I was a "Dennis The Menace" type character in an English-language sitcom.







It started when they needed a kid for a family setting, the feedback was tremendous, and the series got rewritten around me. Every episode was some sort of object lesson and full of trouble and mischief, usually caused by me! That evolved into me doing print ads, voice-overs on movies and TV shows (Godzilla, Rocket Boy cartoon series, etc.) as well as those language lab tapes you'd have listened to if you were learning English in Japan. I even had a band that got to play for parties and on TV once—covering a Rolling Stones song.







For 8th grade, we moved to London, England. I went from being a national celebrity to being no one. But I continued with music, starting a little band that played at lunchtime most weeks. For high school, we moved to a base closer to Oxford and I spent 9th-12th grade there. This was England during the late '60s/early '70s—the psychedelic era! Long hair, wild paisley shirts, etc.







I got along with everyone, fitting well into every group. I was a jock (double varsity letter, football and basketball—that's how I got my back injury that just was surgically corrected, nationally-ranked skeet shooter, and bowler—all UK champ.). I was a nerd (President of the National Honor Society, Valedictorian). I was a leader (VP Student Government, lots of activities). I was a party guy (hung with the cool crowd—my best friends). I was always Mr. Social, crossing boundaries with ease. People are just people!

For college, I chose Georgia Tech, because of their strong engineering reputation and attractive package they offered National Merit Scholars. I selected Chemical Engineering as my major, since I had a perfect score on the SAT Math section and ACT Chemistry test. I loved Chemistry but wanted to apply it to solve problems. More on this in the next Decade.

Feelings: I never realized the TV thing was that big a deal. My Mom handled all my fan mail, gave me tons of things to sign every month, and I just enjoyed the fun of doing the show. Yes, it was strange to be stopped on the street for pictures and autographs, but Japan is a crazy place anyway. I just thought it went with the territory. Girlfriends were another constant theme but I only had 2-3 serious relationships in high school and then met Carol the summer between high school and college. We spent a lot of time at the beach then did the whole long distance thing for the next 4 years (she went to Florida State and later to the Medical College of Georgia). And this was in the era before cell phones, e-mail, etc.—all with letters, visits, and dormitory pay phones!










But cars also became a huge passion for me during this time. I nudged my dad into buying a high performance '67 Mustang as our family car to take to England. It was a blast—and was the car I first learned to drive! I read everything I could get my hands on and became car crazy for life. We went to watch F1 and other races at Silverstone and I was hooked on open wheel racing too. In college, I had a '68 Camaro. My first summer paycheck went to buy new wheels and tires! LOL

I also loved all the leadership stuff more than the academics, both in high school and in college. My uncle, a businessman, asked me after my sophomore year what I wanted to do and how much to earn as a living. I realized I'd be more satisfied in the leadership ranks than designing piping and pumping systems for refineries.

Favorite Memories: Traveling across the Pacific Ocean on a huge ocean liner and getting tagged by a 50' wave! Tables, chairs, dishes, glasses, and people went flying across the room—I thought it was fun! LOL Driving across the U.S. in the new Mustang, seeing the beauty and isolation of the west (e.g., Utah, Wyoming, Montana). Racing against friends at lunch in high school (the Fox and Hounds game we created). Playing Pinochle with my Mom and friends, many times watching the sun come up! Watching the first moon landing on TV and thinking how cool that would be to do. Having a true "come to Jesus" moment in a car where all that saved me was a miraculous "hand of God" that picked the car up and put it straight on the road. From that point on, I believed in God.

Findings: Life changes and things come and go. You have to make the most of every experience and place that you're at. You can't mourn the past. Pursue the intersection of your passion and skills (more on that in Decade 3 too). That will lead to your best success in work and life. Myers-Briggs personality research says we're basically formed by age 12. My personality was clear—competitive, problem solver, extrovert, leader, social, big picture view, thinker, driven for excellence. In their terms, I'm an ENTJ—also known as the Field Marshal personality. And I was fearless, probably due to having so much independence and encouragement. I traveled the streets of Tokyo and London alone (ages 10-13) without trouble. I had a pattern of success and my parents never led or shaped me with fear.

Well, I hope you enjoyed Decade 2. The next one will be all about Professional Development—college, grad school, and the early working years. And many themes will continue, of course!

Many of you have asked for me to share more about myself through blogs. Denise suggested breaking it up into "decades." So, with a little apprehension about how this will all come across, here goes! Let's start with the first decade: Birth through age 9—personal launch.

Facts: I was born in Washington, DC to parents of modest means. My dad was a U.S. government worker and my mom quit her job when I was born. My dad was of English and German descent and his folks homesteaded in Florida. My mom was full-blooded Italian, born in NYC.













We lived in the DC area until I was 4, when we moved to Germany (along with my sister, who was born a year after me). From then on, I only did 3rd grade and part of 4th grade in the U.S. The rest was all overseas!

I was a bright little kid. Started speaking at 15 weeks. My dad would trot me out with an encyclopedia volume when I was very little and have me read to guests. I was his favorite party trick! Here I am as a 1st grader.







Everyone wanted me to skip second grade but they let me make the decision. I said no. I wanted to stay with my friends. As a result, 2nd grade was miserably boring and I slacked off. 3rd grade was in Virginia (just outside DC) and I loved it because I was in a combined 3rd/4th grade class. I'd finish up our work and then do all the 4th grade work for fun! LOL Mid-way through 4th, we moved to Tokyo, Japan, continuing the international adventure.

Feelings: I was always very loved by my parents. I, in turn, loved others. I started liking girls in 1st grade. Had more girls than boys at my 6th birthday party!







I remember giving flowers to one of my classmates. I picked some random flowers, walked a few blocks to her house (I'm sure my mom trailed behind me), knocked on her door, and gave them to her. Neither of us ever spoke another word about it! LOL I liked meeting new people—had to since I was in 4 different schools from K-4. I was always very inquisitive, taking things apart. According to my baby book, at 21 months, I was mostly interested in assembling the vacuum cleaner and plugging in electric wires! I helped my dad build a few electronic devices when I was 7 or 8 and loved model planes and cars. Life was an exploration of things to me. I liked reading. I liked people. I also liked being in charge. When we'd have teams to play war or sports, I always wanted to be the captain. I remember printing off flyers to have me voted in as "General" of our army! LOL

Favorite memories: Learning German in parallel with English at age 4-5. Traveling to several European countries every summer for vacation. Taking the USS America and the USS United States across the Atlantic and dining in fine style as a little kid, even just ordering 3 desserts for dinner one night!







Coming to the U.S. just before 3rd grade and being introduced to McDonalds! The French fries seemed like they were a foot long to me! Learning to play baseball during my year in the U.S. but being forced to bat right handed (I'm left handed), making me hate playing the game even to this day! Flying through Anchorage, Alaska, taking off just 45 minutes before the devastating earthquake there. Learning enough Japanese to travel around Tokyo independently with no concerns. Swimming on the U.S. Embassy Swim Team (that's me on the far right).







Findings: Is it really right to let kids make big decisions like skipping a grade? If I had been thrust ahead, it would have changed the entire course of my life, but for better or worse? No way to tell. Learning languages at an early age and living out of the U.S. gave me a perspective of being a World Citizen, comfortable anywhere with any people. It also put the U.S. in the global perspective—we're not the center of the world, by the way. It also made me color and gender neutral—I probably have even more lady friends than guy friends, certainly here! And meeting people is easy and fun for me—probably a big reason I'm here! My parents fed my curiosity, loved me, and gave me running room.

OK, Decade 1 in the bag! Let me know what you think about this format, does it work for you? And, if you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and I'll add more depth there.

And, all you lurkers, please leave a comment now and then, or even kudos. Just nice to know if you're enjoying this series as well! xoxo

We get so caught up in the rush of today's world, the ads that tell us we need more things, and the routine of focusing in the same place all the time.

Having a bit of a break can make anyone appreciate some of life's very simple pleasures, like:

The opportunity to stand unsupported and look out a window at the beautiful fall colors







Being allowed to take showers again







Being allowed to sleep on my side, my favorite position







Getting an unexpected text message from someone who cares







Having enough of an appetite to eat pizza, a favorite food







Having enough time to actually watch the DVDs that have been ordered







And having friends drop a card, call, or come by for a visit.







Doesn't take a lot to be satisfied these days! :-)

And these have been great days, overall. Lots of slowing down, resting, and healing. Thanks to all of you for checking in! Probably nothing more to report for a long while--it's just a 3 month healing process now. So, anyone got any blog topics they'd like me to write about???? xoxo

Yeah, I wish I could show them to you here. There are so many great ones available for viewing at a site. But those smarty pants have disabled any way I have of copying them and pasting them into a blog!!

So, if you'd like to see them, send me your e-mail and I'll forward you a link that will allow you to view as many as you'd like. They're organized into categories, with the photographers' favorites (top ~200 pics) listed first. There are great ones throughout the albums. Please drop me a message and enjoy them!

At some point (after the end of the month, I imagine), Melaine and Frank will have the rights to all the digital photographs. I'll try to post a blog then. :-)

Thanks to all of you who have kept in touch this week. It's a good week. Learning my limits and what helps vs. hurts the healing. But I certainly appreciate all of you!

xoxo

Many thanks to all of you who sent notes and texts. The surgery went very well and I was walking up and down stairs within 24 hours! They decided I could come home today (Saturday) instead of Monday--the normal expectation.

Some might believe my haste to get home had to do with the terrible hospital food--and they'd be quite right! Some of you caught me logging into myspace on my iPhone. Shhh--don't tell everyone of my addiction. ;-)

I'm glad to have nearly 4 months to recuperate before getting back into a race car again. I am expecting a much better lifestyle (less pain) than the past 30+ years.

I appreciate you, my friends! xoxo