Version 1
Hi, this is the fifth installment of my blog for my English Composition I class. For this assignment, I had to read and annotate seven different articles, which I’ve listed below with the links for each one. Five help with this writing genre and the other two, Hills Like White Elephants (Ernest Hemingway) and My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou), we had to connect an emotional theme from them to a theme in our narrative scenes. I think my scene connects to Hills Like White Elephants because of the uncertainty and excitement I see in both stories. I’m not one to relive sad times in my life, so writing about those emotions isn’t what this blog is about for me. This is from the Spring of 2008 when I was invited to "Hot Rod Magazine’s “Pump Gas Drags.” This scene takes you through my process of applying for, and being accepted to participate in the Pump Gas Drags.
In early Spring of 2008, I was at work and we were on lunch and a friend of mine handed me the Hot Rod Magazine from January ‘08 and saw the advertisement for the Pump Gas Drags ,and was debating on whether I should send in the paperwork to see if I get invited. Hundreds of people send in their paperwork but only 75 are invited. The other reasons for the hesitation on sending in the paperwork was because this would be the first time we had traveled as far away as Memphis, Tennessee. Up to this time the furthest we had traveled was to Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania, mostly we had stayed within Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. Also, this was during the time when the gas prices were $4 and up for a gallon, and gas would be a definite factor on whether we would go. Before I sent in my application, I would have to talk to my Girlfriend and my parents, (racing is a family thing for me) and see if I could get the time off from work. I was on my way home from work to talk to my Girlfriend and see what she thought about the idea of going to Memphis and racing. When I arrived home she wasn’t home from work yet, so I had time to think of how I was going to pitch the idea of driving almost 1000 miles, dragging my car and all of the equipment we use while racing, plus luggage and food, and coordinate our time off from work. I thought it shouldn’t be that difficult to get her on board with the idea. When she got home, I waited a little while to tell her about my idea. She made dinner and we talked a little about our respective days and when we adjourned to the living room to relax and watch TV, I felt the time was right and explained my idea. I opened with, “What do you think about us going to Memphis for the “Pump Gas Drags?” My girlfriend replied, “Um, sure. That’s a really long trip. How are we going to do this? Trailer the car I guess?” I said,“Yep, how else are we going to get it there, load it on a plane?” She replied with, “Ok smart ass. I guess your parents would go too? I mean I guess they would definitely want to go. How are they going to feel about it?" I replied, “Well, I’ll have to talk to them about it. I don’t think I’ll be chosen by Hot Rod Magazine to go, so it’s probably not going to pan out.” A few days later, I spoke to Mom and Pop about it. They were on board with the idea. My Mom was excited to go, it was somewhere she hadn’t been. My Dad was thinking like me, and said, “You won’t get invited to go, it's just how our luck runs.” I took the leap, and I filled out the application and had my girlfriend email it to Hot Rod along with pictures of my Chevelle. I really didn’t hold out much hope that I’d ever hear back from them, so I just went on with my everyday life at that point. One morning, my girlfriend texted me while I was at work. The text read “call me as soon as you can." I called her and what followed was a huge shock. My girlfriend, in an excited but quiet voice, said, “DUDE, WE’RE GOING TO MEMPHIS!” I wasn’t sure if what I thought I heard was in fact what was said. In my state of shock I asked, “Seriously? No way!” My Girlfriend replied, “I’m dead serious Bill. I’ll read you the email.” As my girlfriend read me the email, I was still in disbelief. She’s reading off deadlines for submitting this and that, and of course there’s a deadline to tell them you accept the invitation. My best friend at work is standing next to me hearing my end of this conversation, and is motioning to me as if to say, “What’s going on?” I hung up with my girlfriend and said to my friend, “I am one of the 75 people out of hundreds who got picked to race in the Pump Gas Drags at Memphis Motor Sports Park.” As the words are coming out of my mouth, I still can’t believe what has just happened. Version 2
3 Comments
Sabatino
2/18/2020 12:01:41 pm
CIF
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Ashley
2/20/2020 01:45:35 pm
This story was awesome! It kept me reading to find out what was going to happen next. Viewing your website it seems as racing is something you are very passionate about! I hope it was a great time and it is probably too late but, congratulations!
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Bill LewisThis is where I try to make meaning with the assignments for my English Composition class. Archives
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