With all due respect to Dale Earnhardt.....his memory and his family both
immediate and within the NASCAR racing community.....this is very funny. I
am still finding it "difficult" on a daily basis.....to come to a complete
realization that Dale is no longer going to be racing on Sundays. It felt
good....and it was the right time I guess......to be able to
"laugh"......about him and with him.....as he often made everyone who knew
him or watched him on TV......laugh quite often. This isn't a new "joke"
about Dale....but it now has a new meaning. And, it so much represents what
I think of.....when reflecting about his career on the race track.....and
how he impacted my life in racing.
I read this today on the NASA Pro Racing newsgroup......it made me laugh
today....in a new way, even though I'd heard this joke before. And it felt
good. I'm sharing this with all of you, only for that reason. Maybe it
will make you feel good too?
Here it is:
The scene opens to a wide angle view of Dale Earnhardt, being escorted
about.....by an angel......on a tour of his first day in heaven. After
filling out various forms and documents; escorted visits to the various
"departments" designed for outfitting newbies with things like wings and
other "heaven-like" dress code requirements.....and of course, a visit to
pay his licensing fees with St. Peter (Form of Payment: Good deeds done
while on earth.) for entrance to heaven.....which Dale had no problems
with...since his "account" had far more than the required
"value".........Dales was being given a "tour" of the recreational
facilities in heaven.
At one point, Dale asked, "What's there to do around here?" His angel
escort, who was very busy that day and had not taken enough time to review
the complete "profile" on his current "charge".......asked, "What do you
like to do?" Dale responded, "Well....I like to race cars! I like to race
NASCAR Winston Cup cars to be exact!" The angel replied, "Oh, we have that
around here!" At which point the clouds began to part revealing a
sprawling, "blimp cam" view of the Daytona International Speedway....packed
with hundreds of thousands of heaven's NASCAR racing fans.....screaming and
cheering as the field came across the S/F line.....with the number 3 black
car in the lead....by 8 car lengths!
Wide eyed and smiling from ear to ear, Dale asked, "Who is driving the
number 3 car?" The angel replied, "Oh.....that's God.......he thinks he's
Dale Earnhardt!"
*****************************
The only thing that would have made this even funnier......is if I could
have heard Dale, Jr. tell me this joke about his dad. I hope to God....some
day he will be able to tell it at some press conference, or maybe when he
wins the Winston Cup Championship......when ever that day comes....maybe he
could tell this joke about his dad. That would be cool!
Regards,
Tom Pabst
