Wed, 12 Sep 2001, 11:22 AM In The Overall Realm Of Life

By Bob Frey

As you all know by now, the Keystone Nationals race has been postponed for two weeks. Postponed because of the terrible incidents that took place in our country on Tuesday. Postponed because, in the overall realm of life, racing cars just doesn’t seem that important right now.

As human beings, we all tend to focus on our own, little corner of the world. From our own point of view, things that affect us seem huge, while troubles in other people’s lives are insignificant. A late flight, poor service at a restaurant, a business deal that doesn’t work out, all appear, at the time, to be life-altering situations. They’re not. In our racing world, a foul start, smoking tires or a broken blower belt all seem like the end of the world. They’re not. And, while I realize that racing is what a lot of folks do for a living, in the overall realm of life, it’s just a diversion from the really important things. Things like loving and caring for each other. Like appreciating, and even respecting someone with a different point of view. Like understanding that, just because another person doesn’ t agree with you, it doesn’t make them a bad person. And realizing that, in times like this, we all need to reach out and share our love and prayers with those who have been affected by these terrible acts. There will be other days when we can race.

As a parent, you like to think that you can always be there for your children, to put a band-aid on their wounds, to kiss them and make them better. You want to be there to answer their questions, and to reassure them that everything will be all right. You like to think that you have all the answers, but you don’t. At least, I know I don’t. When my daughters were in high school, and didn’t get asked to the prom by the guy who they hoped would ask them, I tried to tell them that, in the overall realm of life, it’s not a big deal. But, to a 17-year-old girl, it was. And then you see the kids at Columbine High School and your perspective changes dramatically. When they asked me how something like the incidents of yesterday could happen, I didn’t have any answers for that, either. I know there must be some answers, I just don’t have them. I guess this is where the gift of faith comes in. We must have faith that, in the overall realm of life, things will get better.

Today, as we try to recover from the horrible incidents in New York and Washington, maybe we can all take a moment to reflect on our own lives. Take some time to think about how we can be better people, and understand the things that we can do to make the world a better place in which to live, for our children and us. Kindness, understanding, patience and caring for our fellow man is a good place to start. Once we do that, and we can, then we can get back to racing. After all, in the overall realm of life…



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