Tricks that old racers get up to after retirement

[FUJIMO]

[Watermark]

Hey Mark Rathermell, after much help from my daughter Sam and husband Clive, looks like we cracked it.
Heres the Valleyfield section, of “THE BOOK”, ITS FIVE PAGES OF SOME THREE HUNDRED , unabridged and certainly unedited script, ENJOY, let me know what you think.

Jackie, thanks for sending this along. First and foremost, your memory for finite details is amazing. I’m thinking that the majority of racers with a career that spanned longer than a decade might well be challenged to remember the human-interest aspects of a particular weekend.
Having raced at the Valleyfield Regatta many times, I’m aware of its colourful history and atmosphere - It has always been Canada’s "Indy 500 of Boat Racing”. In Quebec, hydroplanes (particularly the Grand Prix class) are what fans come to see. Given the site's politics, that you were even presented with an opportunity to compete with them that weekend is a story in itself! Your daily adventures add context and LOTS of colour, piquing reader interest.

I’ve read this chapter twice (so far) - both times quickly, since tomorrow is Christmas and my last-minute list must now be attended to. Without a doubt, boat racers - and boat racing fans - will not only enjoy but relate personally to your book. It’s been said, “You can’t make this stuff up!”… these are real stories, raw and transparent - truly entertaining for anyone who has been associated or lived the life of a sports person, be they amateur or professional. As Gene said, publishing a book may be the hardest thing you ever do… but please continue putting pen-to-paper each and every day.. and keep on telling a story the way you remember it, without worrying about how it maybe accepted, edited etc. That stuff comes later.


Onward, Jackie - Stay the Course. This is Exciting!! (We're excited for you, your family and for all who follow your daily posts).


MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU & YOURS,

Mark R.

[FUJIMO]

...keep up the good work jack...

[jackiewilson]

There you go Mark, i simply think back to the time ,place or boat and start spouting. Always in a hurry so the grammar may not be perfect . Sometimes i have to spellcheck SPELLCHECK which pisses me off enormously. When the damn thing starts to “anticipate” and comes up with hilarious nonsense i just close it down and start again TOMORROW.
Like i said theres a few hundred phoggies that will be included in “THE BOOK” So it’s quite important to{ Fi mad }. a friendly publisher . See what i mean about the damn fool spellcheck thing. THAT SHOULD READ FIND A FRIENDLY PUBLISHER , who is sympathetic towards boaters ... no good having one thats a gardening enthusiast or a paediatrician.
Wrote a much censored and edited version of PRUETT —- another of Bob and Percy—- members of the family are still alive and well, a full unedited version of these characters could only lead to life threatening conditions to myself.

[jackiewilson]

What the hell do you put on the TRICKS site on CHRISTMAS day?
Was a time when the phone wouldnt stop ringing all day long, folk and friends across the world would be sending best wishes and asking what id bought them for Christmas. Started crack o sparrer with five kids lining up behind me and traipsing downstairs to open al their presents. Father Christmas never failed to satisfy them all.
Nowadays i even say merry christmas to the grandson of Chris Kringle who took the chequered flag {along with the majority of my friends} long ago.
I look out on the world like a friendly benevolent grandfather should , i don’t FEEL ive changed at all, its the other buggers that changed , not me. That is until i start to lift heavy objects, or chase Lizzie back to the car. Simply cannot get used to the idea that this damned old frame of mine wont respond the way i want it to.
So to whats left of all my old friends and acquaintances , Merry Christmas and a happy new year. May you all enjoy good health and happiness, and may your God go with you.

[WaterZebra]

What the hell do you put on the TRICKS site on CHRISTMAS day?
Was a time when the phone wouldnt stop ringing all day long, folk and friends across the world would be sending best wishes and asking what id bought them for Christmas. Started crack o sparrer with five kids lining up behind me and traipsing downstairs to open al their presents. Father Christmas never failed to satisfy them all.
Nowadays i even say merry christmas to the grandson of Chris Kringle who took the chequered flag {along with the majority of my friends} long ago.
I look out on the world like a friendly benevolent grandfather should , i don’t FEEL ive changed at all, its the other buggers that changed , not me. That is until i start to lift heavy objects, or chase Lizzie back to the car. Simply cannot get used to the idea that this damned old frame of mine wont respond the way i want it to.
So to whats left of all my old friends and acquaintances , Merry Christmas and a happy new year. May you all enjoy good health and happiness, and may your God go with you.

A year ago Christmas -

Who would have thought about what was brewing in China?
Who would have thought that this generation would be involved in a global biological war?
Who would have thought we'd all be wearing masks?
Who would have thought we'd all be waiting for a miracle cure vaccine?
Who would have thought that the COVID 19 death toll would total to something like warfare?
Who would have thought that it would be nearly 2 years before things return to "normal"?
Who would have thought our age group (OFF retired racers) would be a "at risk" age group for COVID 19?

[FUJIMO]

What the hell do you put on the TRICKS site on CHRISTMAS day?
Was a time when the phone wouldnt stop ringing all day long, folk and friends across the world would be sending best wishes and asking what id bought them for Christmas. Started crack o sparrer with five kids lining up behind me and traipsing downstairs to open al their presents. Father Christmas never failed to satisfy them all.
Nowadays i even say merry christmas to the grandson of Chris Kringle who took the chequered flag {along with the majority of my friends} long ago.
I look out on the world like a friendly benevolent grandfather should , i don’t FEEL ive changed at all, its the other buggers that changed , not me. That is until i start to lift heavy objects, or chase Lizzie back to the car. Simply cannot get used to the idea that this damned old frame of mine wont respond the way i want it to.
So to whats left of all my old friends and acquaintances , Merry Christmas and a happy new year. May you all enjoy good health and happiness, and may your God go with you.

...understand & agree wholeheartedly mr. wilson. this old age stuff does get old. YOU sir, have a lot to be thankful for. we might not post as often here ourselves, but don't be fooled, we do read & enjoy everything you post up here. hell, what else do we have to do?! lol ...Merry Christmas to you & yours.

[peterse90]

Jackie, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family.
Like Mark I also really enjoyed your Valleyfield chapter.
If I remember I think Staudacher's first name was Les.

[jackiewilson]

Response to VALLEYFIELD is encouraging. The book will still carry on, exactly the way it started —- when i feel like it — and when i can recall an event, a time and place, or person or persons. Of course im a grumpy old bastard, ive earned that particular right the hard way.
Ive done separate chapters around . Garbrecht—Chas Shooter - Renato— Percy and Bob, and many more. At times these do happen to overlap with each other , so what, you get two versions for the price of one!
Tempted to show you the Pruett story. Problem is, im still adding to it on a monthly basis . Love him or hate him, he was more of a Character than anyone else i ever met. Im sure everybody that ever knew him would wholeheartedly agree.
Let the Valleyfield tale run its full course before deciding.
Im full of turkey and plum duff to make sense. Lets see if i can make more sense Boxing Day.

[jackiewilson]

Jackie, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and your family.
Like Mark I also really enjoyed your Valleyfield chapter.
If I remember I think Staudacher's first name was Les.

Pretty sure There was a father and son Staudacher, i always thought dad was Les, but my memories shot so it could be simply written in the wind {so to speak}.

[jackiewilson]

Any day spent with a five year old hyper active girl child can be tiring for a mature person, but to spend it on Christmas Day is an awe inspiring experience.
First i have to tell you, she wasn’t born normal. She kinda skipped out of the womb. She has been skipping and jumping, running and cartwheeling ever since .
First fifty mile an hour kid ive ever known and believe me i have known more than my fair share.
ADVANCED ???? How many five year olds can sit at the head of the table and read all the questions out for four people involved in a serious TRIV PURSUIT Christmas Day competition?
Been up a full twelve hours opening presents. Eating a roast turkey dinner and distributing all the other presents, with no sign of a slow down yet.
I am totally cream crackered, but she is like a human dynamo that doesn’t stop until its switched off.
I tell you in all honesty i was glad to say goodnight and crawl home. Switch on the christmas edition of CALL THE MIDWIFE and fall asleep.
Today im staying home, another turkey roast , nice and quiet, maybe write another chapter of the book, maybe take a nap whilst watching WHITE CHRISTMAS for the fiftieth time . thats my kind of christmas.

[jackiewilson]

OK. Done the smoked salmon and lemon juice with a sprinkling of black pepper and some thin cut malted whole meal bread for breakfast, washed down with a sparkling Lemose {about a quarter the price of champers and every bit as good}. Done this ritual every christmas for the last 25 years, but due to mitigating circumstances, it had to be postponed until today.
Starting the next chapter on the book shortly as ive got a couple of hours to myself for a change. Probably about the “OLD FARTS”, yup, even the old farts will be mentioned . Not that many of them will ever actually BUY the book. Knowing the old bastards like i do, methinks they will all want a signed and numbered first edition to hand down to the third and fourth generation of boat racers.
I was once an old fart myself. Used to meet up with the other buggers once a year, before the world turned stupid . If i remember rightly, we were the last people on earth to talk common09////////////////////////////////////////////............. sense before it all turned to worms and the daftness set in.!
Have a great Boxing Day, then remember, its only 364 days to christmas , But today, its as far away as it’ll ever be.

[willabee]

Pretty sure There was a father and son Staudacher, i always thought dad was Les, but my memories shot so it could be simply written in the wind {so to speak}.

I received an email from our friend Bob Hetzel yesterday!

Hetzel sent an email ..... wow, wonders will never cease ..... that is something that should be added to the list strange things that happened in 2020.
He asked me to tell you that the father's name is Les and his son is John.

[jackiewilson]

Tell Hetzel i said hi. Never did get to thank him for all the hard work he did on the ROLLA PROP AT PARKER.
Garbrecht and Duckworth in their wisdom decided to “Lengthen” the gears to make the bottom end last longer . Good idea on paper , they both forget what that would do to the props i had !
First time i tried the COSWORTH with the new configuration, damn thing wallowed about like a legless elephant in a mud hole . Garbrecht turned to Bob Hetzel and have him grind a half inch of the diameter ; that took up most of the test time . Bob ground more and more off the prop until it looked more like a hydro whizzer than a stern drive prop. Over the next two days Hetzel worked his nuts off trying to make things work. We eventually got the COSWORTH to plane, but nothing like it did at Bristol. Took forever to get up and running , but it was a 7 mile course, so once we were up we were ok. So we lost a lot on the turns . But there was only one either end. /
So , i shall be forever grateful to Hetzel, without him, there would have been no Parker for me and Brett May.
See, i was right, the old man was Les Staudacher !
Thanks Bill, happy new year!

[Lake X Kid]

Yup, its getting dafter still———Uncle bens rice has been withdrawn from the counter sales , along with aunt Jemimahs recipe book and sponge bakes .
Uncle Toms cabin has been withdrawn from the library.
Oscars for „“gone with the wind“ been scrapped .
Allocated spaces for Formula one drivers reads , 2 Blacks—-2 Whites—-2 french——-2 Italians —-2 Americans—-2 Brazilians——2 Swedes—- 2 Spanish——- 2 South American’s —— 2 Australians and 2 black reserves because its grossly unfair to have so few coloured drivers .[REGARDLESS OF ABILITY}.

Is it not remiss of a man of the British Empire, to omit a seat for the lads from the former colony of India?