Tag Archive | news

Words That Touch The Soul

The Magic of Poetry

Every now and then you may come across a phrase out of no where that you can’t let go of. Perhaps it’s a poignant moment in a TV show, a movie, maybe even an Internet meme. What ever it is, the words touch you in a way that grabs hold of your mind and you need to know more.

Thankfully in today’s world your only a little search tool away from looking into the Library of Alexandria and discovering more. That happened to me tonight.

While watching a rebroadcast of Inspector Lewis, one of the characters recites a line from a P.B. Shelled poem “And the moonbeams kiss the sea“. There was something magical in that phrase and I felt drawn to finding where it comes from.

It wasn’t hard to find. And I’m glad I made the effort. It’s that last paragraph that truly touched my soul.

P. B. Shelley
CLXXXIV

Love’s Philosophy

The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
In one another’s being mingle—
Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdain’d its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea—
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?

2016

Get Help For Drugs Dropped from Insurance Plans

Oct5

The Price Of Medication Going Up

Tonight on NBC Nightly News, they shared a story about prescription drug prices and the fight between insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations to cut costs for prescriptions. As the pharmaceutical industry increases prices on drugs people need to survive, everyone is trying to find ways to save money, including Insurance companies.

Congress can act like they’re offended and concerned about the greed being shown by pharmaceuticals. But let’s face it, IF they do anything about it, it won’t help us afford our necessary medications for several years to come. Those average citizens who have a terminal disease can literally be put in the position of choosing life or death because they can’t afford their prescriptions. Those people who have a disease that can be managed, like diabetes, may also be forced into that same position because of the cost of their maintenance drugs.

Now the insurance companies are making a case that they’re trying to “help” us average citizens by forcing the pharmaceutical industry to lower its prices on commonly used medications. Ok, I can understand the concept. If you want to force any industry into lowering its prices, hit them where it hurts most, in their bottom line. But at the same time, you know the insurance companies are doing the same thing to customers that big pharma is doing. Continue reading →

I Cracked Myself Up

Aug5

If You Can’t Laugh At Your Own Humor

You’re missing out on a lot of silly, funny, seriously ridiculous things!

More About Tony, NASCAR and Racing

NASCAR & Racing ~ My Racing Musings (with more on Tony)

What Smoke Means To Race Fans

Jul25

Tony Stewart 2016.07.24 at Indy

Tony Stewart Tributes

This past Sunday, 3-Time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart ran his last race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). It was an emotional weekend for sure. Not only for Tony, but for his family, friends and fans too.

Tony was born in Columbus Indiana and IMS is his home track. He’s also the only active Cup driver born in Indiana who still lives in Indiana on a regular basis. He’s a beloved native son and no one has said how much he’s respected and appreciated in Indiana than Robert Riddle’s article “Logging Laps: The Final Lap“.

As a Stewart fan, I always want more stories like this about the good things Tony does for the Racing communities around the world. I think those things he does that some how sneak out through other sources show the kind of man he really is.

Like the 2013 Kyle Larson Daytona Crash into the fence where several fans were hurt and taken to the hospital. Tony won that race. The first thing we saw him do was ask about the fans. Then he kept his winning celebration very low-key out of respect for those who were hurt. It wasn’t until months later we found out Tony went to the hospital and visited with every fan who was injured. And it wasn’t an in and out, I’m sorry you were hurt. He sat with everyone for as long as they welcomed him. That’s class. Continue reading →

Indy Reveals Dirt Track For Tony

Jul5

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Builds Tony Stewart A 3/16th-mile Dirt Track
July 5th, 2016

IMSDirtTrackReveal

In honor of NASCARs 3-Time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart in this last and final season of his Cup career the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his home track built the People’s Champ a dirt track.

The track made the announcement at the end of last month Indy Builds Tony Stewart A 3/16th-mile Dirt Track on Twitter. Today was the big reveal for Tony and his USAC friends. Bryan Clauson, Sarah Fisher, Keith Kuntz and several others attended today’s exhibition. Continue reading →

NASCAR – Tony Stewart Breaks Winless Streak

Jun29

3-Time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart – Wins at Sonoma

Sonoma California
June 26, 2016

Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 will become a favorite for many race fans regardless of series or generation. Tony Stewart breaks his 84 race winless streak with a win at Sonoma. Marking his 49th Career win!

Also known as “Smoke”, Tony won at least 1 race each season from the start of his career until 2013. The dry spell of 2014 and 2015 came after several tragedies and emotional comebacks in Tony’s life. He missed the first 8 races of the 2016 season after suffering a broken back in an all-terrain vehicle accident a couple of weeks before his final season was to begin in February at the Daytona 500. A race he was never able to win in his Cup career.

His father, Nelson Stewart, was still wiping away tears while watching his only son celebrate in Victory Lane. “It’s been a tough three years not just for him but everyone that’s close to him,” his father said. “I don’t know what to say. We all needed that bad. He really needed that bad.”

Since 2013 the specifications for Nascar set-ups have changed many times. Tony said many times that these set-ups didn’t mesh with his style of driving and he was struggling to find the right way to drive them from his perspective. But over the past few weeks, Tony and his Crew Chief Michael Bugarewicz have been improving the set up to fit Smoke’s style. Continue reading →

NASCAR – Fireworks War At Hidden Hollow

Jun29

It’s war!

Celebrating The Win At Sonoma
June 28, 2016

Tony begins his Periscope shares and then hands his phone off. Our PR rep for the evening is Megan Droud, Rico Abreu’s girlfriend. She explains who our teams are for the evening.

The young guns driver Rico Abreu, his crew guy Trevor and Tanner Thorson his teammate from Keith Kunz Motorsports.
The old guys Tony, Keith Kunz and crew guy Big Al.

On June 26, 2016 Tony Stewart won at Sonoma, California. It’s his first win of the season and comes after an 84 race dry spell. It was a popular win among a variety of fans, other drivers, crews and even folks from other racing series. After his media obligations at the track, Tony went to his Hidden Hollow Home in Indiana. On Monday, Rico Abreu tweeted about having lunch with Smoke and some of their friends. Continue reading →

NASCAR – Indy Builds DirtTrack For Tony

Jun28

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Builds Tony Stewart A 3/16th-mile Dirt Track
June 28, 2016

Tracks all over the country are planning special events to honor 3-Time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart in this last and final season of his NASCAR career. No one is giving him a bigger going away present than Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his home track and one of his top favorite tracks.

The track made the announcement today on their Twitter account:
Indy Motor Speedway (@IMS)
June 28, 2016
A short track at IMS in honor of @TonyStewart? You heard right. The dirt arrives tomorrow! Continue reading →

3-Time NASCAR Champ Inducted into the USAC Hall Of Fame

Jun17

2016 USAC Hall Of Fame Inductees Announced

On June 20 the United States Auto Club (USAC) announced their Hall of Fame Inductees. The class of 8 five drivers, two officials and a car owner-chief mechanic. Alphabetically Russ Clendenen, Jimmy Davies, Bob Higman, Tommy Hinnershitz, Dick King, Pat O’Connor, Tony Stewart and Bob Tattersall.

It’s that 3-Time NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart that caught my attention. USAC’s announcement profiles each of their inductees. All 8 have overcome challenges, persevered through trials, set backs and hardships. And all of them have lived their dream and triumphed.

Tony Stewart, of Columbus, Ind., became the first driver ever to claim all three of USAC’s National championships in a single season (in 1995) and is one of only six USAC “Triple Crown Champions.” He won the 1994 USAC National Midget title, then added the Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown honors the next season. Proficient in virtually every form of motorsports, he has earned three NASCAR Cup championships (2002, 2005 and 2011) and a 1997 Indy Racing League title. He has 27 USAC National Midget wins to his credit, as well as 10 wins in the Sprint cars and three in the Silver Crown series. A member of the National Midget Hall of Fame (2001), his list of impressive motorsports awards and accolades continues to grow. In five Indianapolis 500 appearances, he started first in 1996, finished fifth from the front row in 1997, was ninth in 1999 and sixth in 2001. His charitable contributions through his Tony Stewart Foundation are endless. In addition to his USAC driving titles, he also has seven Sprint Car Owner championships as well as seven in the Silver Crown Series as an owner.

Tony also owns Tony Stewart Racing a title-winning World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series team.

He’s also part owner in Stewart-Haas Racing. Another title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America.

Online voting for the final four 2016 inductees into the USAC Hall of Fame will be available on the USAC website Monday (June 20) at www.usacracing.com.

More About Tony, NASCAR and Racing

NASCAR & Racing ~ My Racing Musings (with more on Tony)

Weekly Observations For – May 21st

May28

Weekly Observations

What We Saw This Week

Some of my observations from around the social media networks. Comments I made, events I shared. Stories with some laughter and some concern. Some news stories that created annoyance with politics or moments of joy with a few good news stories too.

May 27th
Smithsonian Magazine
May 27th at 12:46pm ·
A Long-Lost Manuscript Contains a Searing Eyewitness Account of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921
smithsonianmag.com
A recovered manuscript holds the 95-year-old eyewitness account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot.

May 27, 2016 11:09pm
There are many things history teaches us. One of them is to NEVER FORGET, so that we NEVER REPEAT THE PAST! Continue reading →