Thursday, May 09, 2013

My day at LV Grand Prix with Marco: Feeling like Flounder again

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER


One of my favorite all-time movies is "Animal House." Even now, 35 years after its release, I'll have to stop and watch at least a few scenes if I catch it while scrolling through the channels.
And throughout my adult life I've felt a lot like Kent Dorfman, the fraternity legacy better known as Flounder.  There are certain days when you just don't feel like you belong. Nothing goes right. I've had a lot of Flounder-like days.
One of my favorite scenes in "Animal House" is when Dean Wormer goes over the GPAs of the students who are in trouble. He gets to Dorfman and says "Zero point two."  Then he takes off his glasses, looks at him and says: "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son."
Well, Wednesday I felt a little like Flounder at the Lehigh Valley Grand Prix as I made my first attempt in a go-kart and had the misfortune of being in the same heat as IndyCar racing star Mario Andretti and another accomplished driver in Nick Igdalsky, who now helps to run Pocono Raceway with his brother Brandon.
When you smash into the "wall" on your first turn, you know it's not going to be a successful stint.
Hitting that same "wall" two other times added to the humiliation.
But you know what? I actually enjoyed myself to some degree and would like to give it a go another time when there's just Harrys and Petes and Joes on the track and no one named Marco (that's him passing me, by the way) lapping me five times in 14 laps.

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