THE PASSING OF A HERO

“#3”

“damn. i was speechless.”

“I wasn't an Earnheardt fan but it completely floored me when I heard the news. It's a sad day for the NASCAR world.”

“fan or not, he was respected by everyone.”

“rad...you said it perfectly”

“Who???”

“A true icon in motor racing. He'll be missed.

The Story”

“LH - Daytona race today
(off-topic a bit).

It must have been a VERY bittersweet win (finally) for Michael Waltrip. Earnhardt was protecting Waltrip from behind when Earnhardt got loose and ran head-on into the wall on the very last lap of the race. Waltrip (the winner) was actually sponsored by and racing for Earnhardt. Hard to believe that after the incredible crash earlier involving 17 cars and car 20 flipping through the air that everyone walked away, and yet on the very last lap Earnhardt was killed. He will be sorely missed by the NASCAR community.”

“WHY GOD WHY!!!!

This blows!!!!!! Big time!!!! The Big E #3 is nolonger. I can't beleive it. My man is gone!!!!! "....... the daaaay the engine died, and they were singing......" See you later Mr. Earnhardt, gone but never forgotten!!”

“You're right Briar Rabbit -- this sucks big time. At least he was smart enough to hire Waltrip even tho' everyone else wondered why. It's just so sad he didn't get to see the finish to share and the victory!

Not much consolation, but I'm sure he at least knew at the time he lost his life that his team-mate was about to win. Gone, but never forgotten..”

“Dale Earnheardt Tribute

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1465610&a=11651558

All photo's taken by me.”

“Dude.....way cool. thanks”

“Thanks cork.

I saw the accident on tv. The news was saying something about his not wanting to wear a harness that would have kept his head from impact, but they didn't know if his not wearing it did or did not lead to his death.

LG tells me that the cars were traveling at or over 180 miles per hour. I can't believe that more drivers don't die driving at these speeds. I know they are professionals, but 180 miles?”

“Tony Stewart's crash earlier was much worse but he's fine.”

“he wasn't wearing it lipstck hiker. it was designed by a fella at u of m so we've had a bunch of coverage on exactly what it is and how it couldve saved his life. too bad; such a young guy.”

“I hurt! Bill Hurts! Raceing will never be the same. But at least he died doing what he loves.and watching his son and his car doing it at Daytona. I hope is family is ok and now i will have to become a Dale E Jr.Fan I just hope he took lessons from his dad. when Bill worked at the Airport near Bristol he met Dale many times and Dale was one of the nicest drivers everytime he would fly in. Now Dale you can truly fly! Go in peace#3”

“A hero? no, he risked his life for what, pride? glory? money?. It's a tragedy that he died, but he knew the risks, and frankly anyone who loves their ego or their career (especially such a dangerous one) over their family is kinda a$$ backwards. If you're single with no kids, then by all means go and get killed in a blaze of glory. but if you wanna marry and have kids, then you should be prepared to be a little less self-centered with your priorities in life. I'd much rather have a living, devoted, "normal" father than a dead famous one. but at least his death will pull temporary focus on improving safety.”

“Geeze Mutt kinda harsh wouldn't you say. Would you say that about a police man or firefighter and his family? Not trying to compare those but occupational hazards such as death are relavant. Saying Dale was self-centered is alittle far fetch. Saying he did not care for his family is worse. Saying that all his doing was just for his ego is down right ridiculous. You obviously know nothing about Dale or what he has done for others.

And what defines "normal" father in your book?

He knew the risks, his family knew the risks, every fan of racing knows the risks involve. And it can be said that taking no chances in life and your chances at life are greater. But isn't life a game of chances?”

“hmm, so there's a couple of reasons why mutt is probably not married.”

“Cruel. But it's what happens when you mix all that horsepower with all that testosterone. Those boys know what they're getting into when they climb into those cars. They approach it with a machismo that is either brave or stupid depending on your perspective.

I heard some punk on the radio ask if the hearse was going to have sposorship decals all over it. It is too bad.”

“I couldn?t care less about auto racing but it is a lost to all of us when someone that is great at a good thing dies. Condolences to the family and friends.

Mutt, thank you for the statement affirming the Jewish/Christian philosophy of the family. If you were the liberal some think you are you would know that fathers are not important. Men are just sperm donors. Children are to be raised by the village. Good daycare is what matters not fathers. So you are not the bitter, selfish, negative, shortsighted blowhard some people say you are?”

“You never cease to amaze me mtn gal. So I guess your hubby is nothing more than a sperm factory and you rather have some strangers watch and raise your kids in a day care. You must be a great mother if one at all!!!

Did you think before you made that overgeneralization about men. Thats just what the world needs more fathers less kids. You go woman!!!”

“Bunny boy- don?t you know a sarcasm when you read one.”

“Apparently, Briar hasn't read Hilary's book.”

“Sorry if I sounded flippant but with you Honey Bun it is hard to tell, LOL. Like I said you never cease to amaze me.

Peace woman!!!”

“Your right BP!!!! HiLAIRy is not stating something new that has not been know since the dawn of humankind. Its old news!!!”

“I think Mutt's comments are sensible and not overly harsh. To year after year, climb into a racecar and drive at breakneck speeds, even after achieving sufficient wealth so you don't have to, doesn't seem responsible. One has to question the motivations for continuing this activity. It certainly was not to provide for his family.
And Brer, a fireman or police officer perishing in the line of duty is so far different than an entertainer dying performing a stunt. No one pays to see these civil servants perform their jobs and they are not recklessly speeding around a track for the merriment of those paying at the gate.
Everyone is so anxious to jump on Mutt's case without even considering the truth (full, partial, non at all) of what he is saying.”

“Well, flyguy6x, everyone kicks old Mutt because evidently I'm a "bitter, selfish, negative, shortsighted blowhard." :-)

And I agree with what flyguy6x said. Being a police officer or a fire fighter is serving the public good. There's no way driving around in circles compares; regardless of how skillful at it you are. Racing is big business and is about profit and glory. There's nothing heroic about it. I just don't understand his priorities. I'd be putting my kid first, not the risk of a fiery death.

radagast: wanna spell those reasons out to me?

Mtn_gal: Uhhh, your non sequitors really baffle me sometimes. Here's an idea for the next time you want to attack liberals: make some sense!!!”

“Simple over all answer to the question of motivation for any job should be LOVE, plain and simple. Fly I fail to see the difference in dying between cops and firefighters and those like Dale. If one dies doing what they and others love them to do what is there to question.



Why be a cop or firefighter if you not going to love what you do. Why do people climb unto the back of enraged bull. Why do teachers teach. It is all for love.”

“I kind of question the pointlessness of someone dying in auto racing.... then again, I do understand.

OK, here is something from the Feb. 19, 2001 Waterloo (IA) Courier. Dale had been in NE Iowa. He was the first Winston Cup driver to use Featherlite trailers to haul his cars. (Featherlite HQ is in Cresco with at least one more facility I know of in Nashua--yes, all IOWA). In 1994, Dale visited the Nashua plant and was signing autographs. The paper had a nice file photo of him. The story ends with these paragraphs, following local reactions, including the owner of Featherlite (who was at Daytona):

Earnhardt knew the risks behind racing as well as anybody. During an appearance at the Featherlite facility in Nashua in 1994, Earnhardt talked about the dangers of the sport. One of his closest friends, Neil Bonnett, had died in an accident not long before that. During the same weekend appearance, Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna died in a crash in Italy.

"Senna was one of the best," he said. "When you see someone in your profession, the same profession you're in, lose a life, it's a sad deal.

"It's part of it," he added. "It's like flying in an airplane -- I flew up here today -- and people crash in airplanes and die in car wrecks on the highway, whatever. It's like accidents in the workplace; you deal with it, put it behind you and go on."

WORDS BY THE MAN HIMSELF”

“This is not the correct place for this. Sorry Mr. Earnhardt. But . . .

Over your head mutt? It is simple, you attack religion but then espouse some of the morals that are key to some of those religions. That would be: fathers are important to the raising of children; honoring the vows of marriage; caring more for others than yourself; not seeking the praise of man. If these morals do emanate from religion. I don?t think I need to say more, I probably shouldn?t have said this. ?Contention is of the devil?.”

“delete the "If"”

“Live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“It took a lot longer than I thought it would for the a$$holes to come out and dis the deceased Mr. Earnhardt. A real class act guys.”

“Who is dissing who?”

“Oh, Ok, Mtn Gal. Thanks for giving me the key to unlock the meaning in your original post. I suppose I should have understood you in the first place.

Prepare yourself for a shock: I?m liberal, I?m not religious, and I think fathering, devotion to family, and selflessness are important morals. I don?t, however, agree that this kind of basic human morality was a product of religion. Let me keep this simple. I separate spirituality and religiosity into two distinct concepts. The former is innate; the latter is an external social construct. The latter arose as a result of people possessing the former. I criticize the social component of this dichotomy, but I don?t criticize those aspects of spirituality that are generally found in every religion and in non-religious people like me. So that?s why I can make arguments formed around structural criticisms of religion, and not attack any particular individual?s spirituality. And that?s why I can affirm some of the moral lessons of your religion without having been indoctrinated or even exposed to it. Get it? Got it? Good!”

“Butt -

Do you walk in the woods and sleep in the woods?
Do it? Did it? Good!

Come a'walkin sometimes with me and my daddy.
K?
We will show you some good things and mebbe you will get happy nice and not be such a doo doo hed.


I am sorry that the fast driver is ded. I hope that his woman and kids and dogs and kittykittys are ok.”

“Got it. Separate the teachings from the teacher. Actually you may be surprised at how much I agree with you about the evils of organizations that do or have called themselves ?churches?. In most cases I just disagree that these fallacious organizations are the true representations of the ?church?s? teachings. In some cases these ?churches? both truly follow their teachings and are evil, but have nothing to do with God. The big difference is that I know there is a God and so I look for the one Church that is free from the misuse of power you call to our attention. That is the Church that is free of misuse, not the imperfect people that happen to profess membership (yes it is a fine line). You don?t believe there is a God (yes it is an assumption) so anything based on a believe in God must be wrong regardless of what it teaches or does. You know its is wrong so why look for any good in it, it is a falsehood to be exposed. So if you want to talk about this at its roots you need to discuss the existence of God. Without establishing the existence or nonexistence God and the nature and character of God the church question is meaningless.”

“well I thought it might be nice to see what Dale Earnhardt himself had to say about the topic...and it might provide some comfort to people.

Excuse me for participating. Why don't you guys argue elsewhere or in e-mail?”

“My youngest daughter came home from school very irritated.
Seems that her teacher and classmates were putting Dale E down..Saying that he wasted his life drinking and racing. He didnt put his life to good use witnessing..Oh BTW she goes to a christian school.
I have lost all faith in her teacher..not only as a teacher but as a person too.
My husband has delivered special ordered cedar beams and other items to his house many times and he yet to see Mr E with a beer in his hand or without a smile on his face.( when he was at home )
It took all my effort to keep from turning around and telling this so called christian woman what exactly I thought of her ways.
Whats that verse...Judge not, that ye be not judge”

“How the heck did a tribute to Dale Earnhardt turn into a debate over religion??? WTF??

Talk about opinionated people - He was a good man (okay you can argue if you want), but he WAS an icon to NASCAR racing, and a great mentor to the entire racing industry. He and his family knew the risks he was taking every time he climbed behind the wheel of his car, yet they supported him in his passion.

Give me a break with the judgemental attitudes! I am a backpacker, but also race my car when I'm not hiking, and believe me, Earnhardt was probably the most well-respected NASCAR driver to date. He doesn't deserve attacks from uninformed persons that make judgements and don't know the history of the good he has done for the racing industry. Even if you can't understand why he would risk his life, at least his family supported him and understood that it was important to him, just like backpacking is important to many of us.

We all have to choose what risks we are willing to take. I know lots of people that think we are nuts for hiking out in the wilderness around "all those wild animals". Hah! We all make our choices in life and live or die by them.

okay, I'll climb off my soap box now :-(.”

“Cork
I wanted to say that yesterday but I was afraid if I did, I'd have gotton too vulgur about it and decided not to post after all.
Thank you for saying it so perfectly!”

“WTF...Cork
I was just passing on how incencitive my daughters teacher was about the whole deal.”

“OOPS
I meant to hit clear entires instead of submit.
Forgive me Cork. I jumped the gun..again.
I better stick to lurking..lol”

“Please forgive my earlier name-calling, I slipped. My bad.

I don?t think any of us here know this guy enough to call him irresponsible. But it?s an open forum and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. My opinion is it?s rude to say so in a thread eulogizing the man.

I thought he was a hero, although I have to admit I don?t know a lot about him. My kids sure thought he was a hero. In general I think the auto sports stars make good heroes/ role models compared to, say, the NBA/NFL/NHL.

What irritates me is the second-guessing. A day after he dies on the 6 o?clock news I hear some newslady chastising him for not wearing the collar. She seemed so sure it would have saved him.

I?m not anti-safety. I?ve watched these races for 40+ years. I think it?s an engineering miracle that they can protect these drivers as good as they do. Witness the big crash earlier that same day.

I get tired of all the do-gooders in the world trying to ?pad every sharp corner? in our world. Sanitize it. Take all of the risks out. I actually heard someone on TV asking for ?softer walls? on NASCAR tracks. I laughed for a minute, till I thought about it. I realize that they are probably talking about walls that will absorb some impact and reduce the force of a crash on the car. That sounds good. But in the bigger picture, I think we are losing our collective balls. Heroism, courage, daring, are not only not encouraged but are being portrayed as no more than undesirable side effects of testosterone.

I suspect, and hope, his family take some comfort in the fact that he died doing what he loved. RIP.”

“I would be willing to bet that per mile driven, Nascar racing is safer than many of our daily commutes. I have heard way too much from the "armchair generals". The closest most of us get to racing is when we oversleep and are late to work.”

“It would appear that we?ve been had but Mutt again! LOL! He couldn?t get any more play on the Ashcroft thread so he tries for the cheap thrill. Mutt, I gotta tell ya, you did a good job in trying to use troll rule #1, (find what makes people emotional or passionate and attack it) but your execution sux. You start right off showing that you are coming straight from the ignorant POV?

Point 1)

?he risked his life for what, pride? glory? money?.?

Here you are all but admitting that you have no earthly idea why he raced. Never, EVER let your victim know you don?t know what you?re talking about. Come on! This is elementary trolling! Besides, it?s a given why he did it. It?s fun to drive very fast. Not even a scooter riding geek can refute this point. LOL!

Point 2)

?frankly anyone who loves their ego or their career (especially such a dangerous one) over their family is kinda a$$ backwards?

Here you make the disastrous mistake of following up an show of ignorance with an assumption! Weak, weak, weak! Always start out with the art of disinformation! You have to give at least a slight bit of information that is true and you have to present it in the begin to gain enough trust so the victim starts right off the bat trusting that what you say is valid.

Point 3)

?but if you wanna marry and have kids, then you should be prepared to be a little less self-centered with your priorities in life?

Here you have unwittingly set yourself up for the pit trap of hypocrisy. After saying this you have put yourself on the defensive because now you have to defend anything that you yourself do even though you have family and loved ones that care about you. Come on! I remember as a kid that even Oscar the Grouch had family! Even disrespectful folks like you have friends?probably other disrespectful people. Haha! So, considering your own pastimes of climbing various things, where do you come in on the old selfish scale? At least Dale was providing for his family with his pass time.

Point 4)

?I'd much rather have a living, devoted, "normal" father than a dead famous one?

[sigh] Don?t you know anything about trolling? Try not to make your assumptions so thinly veiled. You come right out and draw the conclusion that he wasn?t a devoted father. People will see right through this one. If we look even deeper into this statement you give away your ignorance of the subject again because if this topic truly interested you, you would know something about Dale and his family life. Even the most cursory race fan knows of his and the other driver?s dedication to their families.

Point 5)

?but at least his death will pull temporary focus on improving safety?

Never end with a show of compassion! You want to embed this somewhere right behind the statement containing the disinformation. This way you not only show you know what you?re talking about but you show that you ?care?. Your way is like trying to rip on someone and then throw in a disclaimer statement as an afterthought just so you don?t look like a ?total? fool. Besides, like Hyper showed, we have more chance of being killed in a crash on the way to a trailhead than a driver does in the Daytona 500.

I hope this helps you and inspires you to pay a little more attention to details in the future. Frankly your trolling of late has just be down right disappointing to me. Maybe stick to the politics where it at least appears that you know something about the subject? Hmmm? This was fun! 8)

God Bless Ya Mutt! (yes He still blesses you even if you don?t praise Him! (O8 )

Your Buddy,
Nigal”

“Wow, some of you are way too sensitive. You remind me of all the whiny idiots who "mourned" the loss of princess diana. Ugh. I'm glad that I pi$$ed off some of you (especially you, le subtil, you cheesy ba$tard).

I don't know much about what dale earnhardt did to help other people. However, he's famous for racing, and I don't consider racing a heroic activity. There's nothing heroic about taking unnecessary risks with your life. There's nothing heroic about wasting a sh!tload of gas and oil. There's nothing heroic about polluting the environment. When people assign hero status to any and every sports star, I have to shake my head at the dumbing down of America. You people have no clue what a hero is. If dale was genuinely altruistic and helpful to others, especially if it meant overcoming personal obstacles, then I might consider him a hero. I don't give a rat$ a$$ that he was a gifted driver...that is of little importance to anyone.

By the way, dale earnhardt was a public figure. So get used to people praising/criticising him. I think it's a shame he died just as I would think it's a shame that any dad would die, leaving behind his children. So you can stuff your fake-a$$ rightous indignation up your a$$.”

“le subtil, sorry I called you a cheesy ba$tard. After the fact, I don't know why I singled you out. I guess I "slipped" too.

Nigal, I must really chap your a$$ for you to devote your weekly post to me AGAIN. I admire your knowledge of trolling, and your analysis of my first post was truly cool. Obviously you've learned from some of the best, and you've certainly impressed me. But frankly I don't get any personal validation from people's perceptions of my trolling ability. I don't care if people think I'm "good" or not, or interesting, or intelligent. So you've misjudged my intentions this time. I'm just throwing my opinion out there. It seems my opinion is often wildly divergent from the norm in this forum, and you must think I purposely create a fictional attitude or perspective to keep that divergence wide. Nope, not that motivated dude. Um, well anyway, I look forward to your diatribe next week. ;-)”