Danny “Magoo” Chandler

ABC-Superbikers 1982 Video Link

Danny “Magoo” Chandler

A Motocross Champion & Legend

If you were ever a Motocross racing enthusiast or raced motorcycles you’re self especially back in the 70’s and 80’s then you’ve most likely heard the Name Danny “Magoo” Chandler. In fact if you ever watched ABC Wide World of Sports Superbikers in 1982 then you know who I’m talking about and I bet you’ve never forgotten the name “Magoo” after that.

ABC Superbiker Event 1982 LINK

 I started racing Motocross in Northern California back in 1975, and it didn’t take long for me to notice one of the most spectacular motocross racers in the history of Motocross!  He started racing at a very young age and lived near Foresthill California just a short 25 minute ride from where I lived.  I knew him like so many others did back in the 70’s; a guy with true grit and determination to go as fast as a hand full of throttle would take him!  If it meant crashing hard or destroying his motorcycle, then so be it! But one thing for sure, the fans loved him for it.

His desire to race and win was courageous, and Magoo would do things that no other racer would ever dare doing in a race or had ever done before.

Like winning 4 straight Trophy Des Nation races in a row in Europe that no other motocross professional in the history of motocross has ever done before or since then.

Magoo’s former Honda Factory team manager and 5 time World Motocross Champion Roger DeCoster from Belgium.

Roger DeCoster

( I took this Picture)

said that he always had to tell other team factory riders to go faster, but with Magoo and his over the top riding style and subsequent crashing, he told him to slow down. It worked; and Danny Magoo Chandler was the man to beat.

Danny was nicknamed Magoo by his father when he was just a little boy. He had other nicknames such as California Wild child or kid? but the nickname Magoo stuck and would be the one that race fans came to know him as and cheer him on with at the race track.

Hangtown 1979 race during Practice

trying to blast through a deep mudpit.

(I'm one of the Spectators behind the fence upper left)

Magoo was amazing on a two wheeled machine.  Track crews had to cut off tree branches next to the tracks because Magoo was flying through them. One time before a race in Europe, a track official told DeCoster during practice that Danny was reckless and dangerous out on the track, Roger held up his clip board and showed him Magoo’s faster lap times than all the other riders and walked away. His talent and mesmerizing ability to do what he did was…. I can’t seem to find the words to describe; you just had to watch him race to know what I’m trying to say. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who saw him race or personally witnessed his style of riding and they all will claim the same thing…

“IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING THEY EVER SAW ANYONE DO ON A MOTORCYCLE! “  Danny Magoo left an impression on everyone and whether it was his riding style or his personality it was always a positive one and I can personally vouch for that. 

Danny leading the Best of the Best on the start at Carlsbad

Danny was a down to earth person and had a friendly spirit. I read a Facebook comment that pretty much explained how Magoo was. This person commented about the one time he raced a Motocross national back in the day and he pulled up and parked in between Bob Hannah (A Motocross Champion at the time) and Danny Magoo Chandler in his 1963 Ford van. He posted that "You should have seen the look" Bob gave him, but then Danny walked right up to him and said "I like your van and then shook his hand.  I didn’t personally know Danny as well as his close friends and family did, but like thousands of fans from all over the world, I have my own stories to tell.

But before I begin my personal stories, I have to let you know, if you didn’t  already,  Danny “Magoo” Chandler at the age of 50 passed away back in October, 2010, (R.I.P. my friend) back in 1985, his motocross career was cut short from a fall, just seconds after winning a Supercross qualifier race in Paris. Danny’s accident left him paralyzed and confined to a Wheel chair after that incident years ago and his life changed dramatically from that day forward. He did a lot over the past twenty six years teaching and promoting racing safety at the race tracks across the country or wherever he could, and helping others who had similar injuries. He promoted Mountain bike races, was involved with the D.A.R.E program with students and also coordinated visits to Children’s Hospitals with Top motocross riders as well as being an instructor at his Motocross racing school and the importance of rider safety.

Magoo Benefit race- Danny surrounded by MX Champions who raced that day -80's

Danny Chandler with his Daughter

Brad Lackey, a motocross world champion himself was a good friend and fellow racer of Danny's and I have to give Brad a huge amount of respect and credit for being the one who stood by Magoo and spearheaded fund raisers for all those years since the accident. 



My Brother Todd on the left and Brad Lackey in the middle

 The first time I met Brad Lackey was at the age of 10 in Richmond at the Richmond Motorcycle Club Track back in 1970; I was riding my fathers friends Bultaco on a circle sidewalk with sand that you could slide around as you gassed the throttle. I was too small to reach the ground and so I had to broad-slide with my feet on the pegs, and I had just fallen down and Brad see's me and walks over and says hey that's a big bike and then says let me help you and proceeds to pick the Bultaco back up for me and while he is standing there holding the bike up - I said hey! can I get your autograph! and he said sure! So I run towards our vehicle to go get the same Suzuki banner that had all the other autographs on it and he is saying "oh hey what?"and I hurry and fetch the Suzuki banner and run back to where he is still holding the Bultaco and then say here it is. And brad looks at it and says... What? a Suzuki banner! jokingly and I said but it has all the other autographs on it. and he laughs and then signed it.  And that was that and we said goodbye So fast forward to the Magoo Benefit race in 1986 I again meet Brad after 25? years later - and I mentioned the story about the autograph on the Suzuki banner I got from him years ago and said "Now what motorcycle manufacturer did you win your Championship on?" and he laughed) I also watched him win races at Livermore (Carnegie Park) when he was still a teen! (After winning 3 Moto’s that day, he crashed doing a wheelie up and around a hill while leading his fourth Moto of the day- LOL) That was also the same track that same year me and my brothers watched the likes of Roger DeCoster, Joel Robert, Gerrit Wolsink, race motocross and got all of their their autographs on a muddy track marker (Suzuki banner) (Still have it)
Funny thing

The first time I watched Magoo race was at the Hangtown Motocross event back in 1976 when the race was held in Plymouth California near Placerville.  

Magoo at Hangtown MX AMA event  in Plymouth CA -1977

I had no clue who this racer was and each time he came by on the track the crowd cheered real loud. 

 I would also see him race at the local tracks on Sunday’s in between my own Moto’s. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the pros race. Darrell Schultz, Donnie Cantaloupe to name a few and then there was the guy they all cheered for and wanted to win!  Magoo dazzled them with his hard charging style! - Danny always gave 110 percent and part of that 110 percent was giving the race fans a show they would never forget! He would purposely Roost dirt at them and they would love it.  

I remember Magoo showed up one night at the Friday Night Motocross race at Sacramento Raceway in 1978 and someone loaned him their MX race bike, my brother Jody lent him a pair of MX boots, and I lent him my helmet and gloves so he could race that night. And One time at Prairie City OHV park (Hangtown) there was a long delay in between Moto’s and so me and a few racing buddies started jumping a flat section on top of a small hill near our pits and land on the other side, so while I was in the air, out of the corner of my eye, I see a tire near my head, Yep it was Magoo.  There was the time back in 1978 I watched Magoo win the Then MX Trans-AMA series race at Sears Point in Northern California.  Magoo crashed (if I remember correctly) 3 times in practice and crashed once or twice in the first Moto and placed 8^th and then he went out and won the second Moto with a huge lead for the overall win that day!  He told me that he was in tears on the last lap doing wheelies for the fans. He bested the best that day! It was AWESOME to watch!  The fans cheered more than I had ever heard at any MX event I have ever attended when they announced him as the overall winner that day!

 

In the late 80’s? After Magoo’s accident, I went to visit him at his house in Foresthill and his father was there along with Danny’s wife and young Daughter.  Inside Danny’s living room was his race bike and a shelf full of trophy’s he had won and helmets that he wore during his racing career. Danny and his father and I talked and laughed about the good ol days when he raced the local events and how they used to strap his motorcycle to the back of his dad’s Volkswagon bug to get him to the races. Danny’s father was just as nice as Danny, and I remember the 3 of us laughing at some of the things Danny did. Danny was so proud of his then 2-1/2? Year old daughter and he had her sing a couple of songs for me with her toy microphone.  I could see in Danny’s eyes while his daughter was singing, how happy he was to share this gift. 

 I left Danny’s house that day with a heavy heart. I drove down Foresthill road thinking about him and how his life is completely different that what it once was.

  If greatness was measured by someone’s True grit and determination to win then he has to be one of the greatest aside from being a Motocross Legend.

I took these photos at the 2004 Hangtown event - Bottom photo is Bill DaPrato

Magoo's longtime friend and mechanic

Danny “Magoo” Chandler’s family, fans, friends, and fellow racers & Champions back in the day included people from all over the world, and we were all very fortunate enough and Blessed to have witnessed a truly extraordinary Motocross legend … His memory is kept alive by all his fans from all over the world, we all proudly know as  …Magoo.

Danny “Magoo” Chandler

1959-2010

Honorable mention

 Doriano Zacchilli

Jeff Frank

for

Danny Magoo Chandler FB page  

 

Brad Lackey talks about Magoo

Brad Lackey Link Here

Roger DeCoster and Brad Lackey Talk about Magoo

at Hangtown MX 2010 Memorial for Danny

Lackey and DeCoster Video Link Here

The Day Roseville & Antelope Stood Sti-- ..... RUN!

Remembering.... 1973 Roseville Train Blasts -

 RUN!

Moving to Roseville California from the Bay area in 1972-73 school year was like stepping back a decade or two in time out to the country.  We moved to PFE road next to the railroad yard into a small shack of a house with our uncle and father and went to the smallest school ever.  Dry Creek school was a Kindergarten through 8th grade elementary school at that time.  It was way out in the rural back roads, southwest of Roseville. 

The school was so small, That the 7^th and 8^th grade students were all in the same classroom and the teacher, Mr. Anderson I believe was his name, was also the school Principal. We were the new kids (me and my twin brother Todd) and so it took us a few weeks or so to make friends especially when most of the other students all grew up together. We soon made friends and fit into this new lifestyle without too much trouble.

 

Anyone who lived in the Roseville/Antelope/Sacramento area back in the early 70’s will remember the Bombs!  

Yes the big blasts that shook everything for miles away and blew up railroad cars and leveled homes and a few hundred other things.  It made national headlines.

-On April 28, 1973, Antelope consisted of a post office, general store and a half-dozen homes - a place hardly worthy of notice. However, at 8:03 a.m., a rail car loaded with aircraft bombs exploded in the southern part of the Roseville switch yard destroying the general store and damaging most of the homes.- 

I remember that day as if it were yesterday and waking up and thinking who in the hell is shooting a shotgun this early in the morning? And very close to our little shack of a house and scaring all the farm animals my father accumulated from Denio’s auction.  I was a sound sleeper back then and almost nothing woke me up that early but after the 4th or 5th blast I remember waking up and going outside and my father was looking up into the sky. And then BOOM! Another Blast scared the crap out of me and then I saw it! The HUGE stadium size Mushroom of a Cloud in the air and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 

The neighbor’s dog who always growled at us came running into our house for cover.  Another blast shook the house and cracked a window.  Just then a CHP officer turns into our driveway and steps halfway out of his patrol car and shouts for us to Evacuate Immediately!  We had barely enough time to get our shoes on when he shouted again that we needed to leave now because their might be poisonous gases in the air. Train parts weighing as much as 95Lbs or more flew hundreds of yards in the air. Some of the trains pieces landed in yards and on houses and vehicles as far as half a mile away. 

In as little as a few hours, 18 boxcars exploded in succession. There were no fatalities, but 48 people were injured and property damage totaled $24 Million.

Some of my classmates lived at ground zero and their houses were either gone, (nothing but ashes) or un inhabitable when it was all over.  A few of my classmates were injured from the blast that shattered glass windows and debris at them.  Most of the families who lived closest to the tracks had to find other places to live.  Our school was closed for a week or two to check for gas leaks etc.   Antelope was changed forever after that day.  What a day that was!

Oh ya I have to tell you about the train yard 30 years or so later at that same spot of the original blasts.  when they were remodeling, and digging up the old railroad tracks to reconfigure the new switching yard, they found unexploded bombs buried at that same location.  They called in Bomb experts and it was decided to detonate the remaining bombs right there underground where they were at.  Now check this out, they had arranged to televise this demolition of the discovered old bombs live on the local news stations at approximately 9:30pm at night one evening.  I lived in Rocklin at the time which was the next town north of Roseville and about five miles away from that location.  So I’m sitting in my chair watching the countdown on Live TV!  321….. and I see the Ground rise where they detonated the bombs and about 5 seconds later my house rumbled and the windows shook and I felt it while sitting in my Chair!  Dude’s and Duddette’s, that was awesome!!!! 

 

 

Well that’s a wrap on this blog, thanks for being here and hope you enjoyed this One Time Ago… true story

There’s more like this one coming to a blog near you, I just wished I could remember them in Chronological order?

Thank you for visiting and keep checking back for more true stories like this one!

~Twine me up Scotty!~

So One Time Ago,

 I’m walking out of a major Hardware store with 4 long pieces of 1 inch wood molding and a bag of small items in my hands that I just purchased with money I work so hard for each week!

Right outside the exit they have a cart with a few things to help you tie down your purchases to the roof of your vehicle or truck bed, such as a roll of nylon twine,

a cutter and red plastic squares to put on the end of your material if it sticks out the back of your vehicle, so you can alert vehicles on the road behind you that you have something sticking out the back of your vehicle.

 I was in a hurry and also my hands were full and I had about 3 fingers free to reach into my pocket for my handy retractable razor knife while holding onto everything.

Of course the 4 long pieces of molding separated and spread eagled at each end while I clutched them in the middle and of course I had to twist my head down and back 90 degree’s to my right to see what I was doing with the razor knife.  I’m so talented; I was able to hold onto all my stuff and pull out about 6 feet of twine and cut it without dropping anything or cutting my finger!  Walla! I scrunch up the twine and away I go.

I get to my vehicle and place the molding and bag of stuff on the ground... Now let’s see……. I need to tie the….Huh???

Out of the corner of my eye, I see this long string of twine extending past my vehicle and the one next to mine.  As I’m looking further down the parking lot I see this same long strand of Twine continuing all the way back to the exit door ... still attached to the roll of twine.  "Wow? that’s a long ways!" I say to myself.

 How did I?.... Dam? …….That’s a lot of twine?

I embarrassingly look around the parking lot and notice a few customers nearby giving me strange looks?

Then someone walks by me from another direction and kind of smirks and I stammer trying to explain what must have happened but he was already out of hearing range.  Next I see an elderly couple getting out of their car, stop at the supersized long strand of twine next to where they parked and the elderly woman hops over it, then looks down at it again and then towards my direction, the couple then both look at each other shaking their heads and continue towards the store,

That’s a lot of twine! I tell myself for the third or fourth time now.

 Frankly 600 feet of twine wasn’t too hard to roll back up into a big ball and place back onto the cart. I’m sure this has happened to other customer’s right? And just in case, that’s why they have that 10,000-ft roll of twine, Right?  

Thank you for visiting and keep checking back for more true stories like this one!

A True Love Story!

A True Love Story

Many years ago there was this very big Magnificent Oak tree on the side of a two lane rural road.

Directly on the other side of the road was a very young and beautiful Pine tree. 

The Oak tree was much older than the Pine tree as it stood over 30 feet tall and just as wide. One of the big Oak trees branches stretched halfway across the two lane road as the younger Pine trees branches barely reached the edge on its side of the road.

Throughout the years, they developed a friendship for one another and eventually they both fell in love and so to, a yearning to touch and entwine each other’s branches in true matrimony.  But because they were trees, they were solidly attached to that one spot on the earth’s surface that Mother Nature chose for them to grow in. The only way possible for the two tree’s to truly be together was to grow inch by inch, each agonizing year, waiting, wanting, yearning, longing for the day there branches would finally touch each other in the gentle breeze of a warm autumn sun, caress each other in the blossoming showers of Springtime. Oh how much they yearn to feel their branches sway together as one. The Magnificent Oak tree and the Beautiful Pine tree stood oh so close but yet… so far away…. Sniff (Tissue please) Sniff!

Someday my love… The Big Oak tree claimed; we will be able to express our love for one another as we have never done before. The Big Oak trees large branch that hovered over the road, inched ever so slowly towards his precious love. 

The beautiful Pine tree swayed and leaned towards the same center of the road as their Love grew closer and closer together like no other love could! Inch by inch, the years went by, the sun rose and set each day, making them want each other more and more.

Then finally one day, the two trees realized after waiting for so long that they were within a fraction of an inch of touching for the first time and knew that it wouldn’t be long before their branches would finally meet and their Love for one another would then be impassioned more than ever before!

Suddenly The Pine trees love for the Big Oak tree grew feverishly stronger at that moment and it couldn’t wait any longer. Passionately it began with all its might, stretching and leaning towards its one and only true love!

The Big Oak tree, sensing the Pine trees efforts, began swaying up and down with each gust of wind that mysteriously rushed by as if it too sensed what was happening at that moment trying also to help them with the seemingly impossible. Their stretched out branches were now one last brisk gust of wind away from the moment they’ve waited so long for!  At last my Love… we will yearn no more! The Oak tree said softly to the Pine tree! Oh my love, I have waited so long for this moment to arrive… the Pine tree lovingly said.

Suddenly, The Beautiful Pine trees roots started to loosen in the soil that held it so solidly in the ground all those decades and began surfacing up through the ground.

All The many years of waning, wanting, yearning, and leaning, towards its one true Love across the road had weakened the soil around it. NOooooooooo” The Oak tree cries out as it see’s the Pine trees roots uprooting. The pine tree is leaning more and more as its roots surface from the depths higher and higher. Oh No! The Pine tree exclaims!  I’m-I’m Fa-l-l-i-n-g!!

Sadly the Beautiful pine tree falls down across the very road that separated it from the Oak tree, with an earth shattering thud! And lands a few feet from the one its heart yearned for all those years.

As the Pine tree lay there on the road motionless, the Oak tree wept and then a road crew came and cut it all up and hauled it away.  The End.

 were you expecting a happy ending or what?

The Moral of the story?

Heck I don’t know?

OK, OK, here’s one:

Love is just like a tree, try too hard and you fall down?

Or how about this one;

Know where you stand in a relationship, or you fall down?

When in Love, Don’t fall too hard?

Or how about;

If you have to work that hard in a relationship, you’re heading for a fall.

You figure it out and get back to me alright?

Jeez, I just write this stuff; I’m not a philosopher okay?

Written by

Yours truly,

Captain HighTide

Thank you for visiting and keep checking back for more true stories like this one!

The Truckster and two Boys

THE CHASE

Okay so, One Time Ago…

When me and my twin brother Todd and older brother Jody were about 9 &10 Our father worked for Cushman Golf Cart company in San Leandro, California and we got to help with transporting and servicing 3 and 4 wheeled gas and electric motorized golf carts.  We occasionally went on trips to prestigious and well known Golf courses throughout California, such as Pebble beach to deliver a semi truck load of Golf Carts for tournaments.  Our father would brag about how he taught us boys how to drive in a 1957 Chevy station wagon three speed on the column at the age of 7 & 8.

We learned how to drive in a car that had a clutch and manual transmission and one time when I hopped into a car with an automatic transmission, I didn’t know what to do to get it to move?  One time our father let us race around a walnut tree orchard in Vacaville with a 1960 something Buick because he, my uncle, and their buddies were drunk and our father wanted to show off how well his boys could drive a car at the ripe age of 7?  I had a blast!  I was getting sideways and flinging dirt up in the air and everything!  I had trouble seeing over the dashboard but managed to keep from hitting the trees. More and more Dust was flying with each lap I made and then the car started sputtering and the engine quit and then I noticed white smoke coming out of the hood, so I pop it open and the carburetor is on fire.  Dad and his buddies were laughing and too far away to notice what was happening until the fire got bigger and then before one of the inebriated adults could stagger over with a fire extinguisher, I had it already put out with my quick thinking 7 year old brain. Yep I threw as many handfuls of dirt as fast as I could on that burning carburetor until it finally went out, much to the dismay of the car owner. Hey it worked?

So fast forward a year. We three boys are now veterans at driving anything with wheels and sometimes we would help unload the Golf carts from a double decker semi trailer.

Semi Trailer in background

It had this hydraulic lift gate that was very steep when positioned to the top deck at an angle all the way to the ground level. So once again when dad wasn’t around we found a way to make it more entertaining as well! Like coming down the ramp backwards as fast as we dared and then slamming on the brakes!  That 3 wheeled golf cart would stand almost straight up in the air!!  You had to see it? We were Pro’s I tell ya!

One time I accidently did it when my father was nearby and let’s just say that I didn’t do that for a long time afterwards. “Honest dad, I accidently slammed on the brakes!”

  But one of the funnest things we did that our father had his suspicion about but never caught us doing, was we got to RACE err drive the fleet of golf carts for our trusting father to other buildings and park them in neat little rows.  So after a few black rubber tire marking laps (inside the building) on our make shift race track around other strategically positioned carts, Me and Todd decided to venture outside with… the- TRUCKSTER!

  It’s a three wheeled vehicle and was used by Golf course maintenance personnel to maintain the turf and also by city meter maids back in the day. It’s like a truck but smaller hence the name Truckster. It had a 3 speed on the column with a clutch on the floor and only one seat barely big enough for our fathers, Big Butt. 

Hey? There's our father coming up a Richmond, CA. hill in one

Cushman moved from San leandro to San Ramon or Dublin around 1970? and this was all new territory for us two adventerous boys and we just had to explore!  So here's me and Todd both sitting on this one seat, driving the… Truckster.  I’m on the left and Todd’s on the right and it’s my turn driving while he waits patiently for his turn or so I thought. Heck to be honest, I don’t think it crossed my mind whatsoever while I drove around the parking lot. Well I guess he felt I was taking too long of a turn and sense we both didn’t have watches or any specific type of apparatus to keep track of time, Todd decided that it was time for his turn, and of course I knew it wasn’t his turn yet. I just knew.  He wasn’t buying.

Todd

Tom

A tug-of-war match ensued between the two of us with the one steering wheel. Todd was tugging in one direction and me the other, all the while hitting each other with our free hand. -Now I’m not an expert about twins but as far as being one I have some pretty good insight about these special amazing abilities we twins possess, like being able to perform a tug of war with the steering wheel with one hand and hitting each other with the other, and also dodging the vehicle parking stops that were everywhere. It takes a special skill in an ambidextrous sort of way that only twins can perform as we compensated for each other’s tugs on the wheel and hits to the shoulder masterfully maneuvering the Truckster to avoid obstacles. Which was getting us... well?  Nowhere… It was obvious that neither one of us was going to win the first round.

DING! Round two…

So there we were, fighting over the steering wheel, racing in between the parking stops, barely missing them as we passed each one within inches, just like in an action packed thriller movie. Thank God the parking lot was empty and you will soon understand why!

 I kept my foot on the throttle, maybe it was because he was trying to keep his foot on the brake!  Anyways we were moving at a good pace when all of a sudden I must have lapsed for a second or got out of sync with our telepathic abilities to read each other’s mind or maybe it was that last hit to my shoulder? That one hurt? Ya that was it, and it made me a millisecond slower with the same idea (I’m telling ya it’s a gift we twins have) anyways all of a sudden Todd decided to stop hitting me and tugs the steering wheel with both hands so hard that the TRUCKSTER veer’s sharply to the right and I fly out of the TRUCKSTER on the left and land on the ground, and did I mention that this TRUCKSTER is a three wheeler? Yep the back wheel runs over my legs and bumps over me.  My Brother is Scared that I’m seriously hurt so he jumps out of the moving vehicle, does a body roll and is up on his feet and running towards me within a half a second to see if I was alright. Bottom line is, no matter what, that’s the type of guy he is.

We both look at the Truckster at the same time and also we both realized at the same time that the TRUCKSTER is still going… …..yep straight towards a brick building!... I’m telling ya, it’s a gift we twins have, it’s pretty amazing stuff. I’m also real sure that we had the exact same thought at the exact same time, of how our father is going to beat us to a pulp if that TRUCKSTER SMASHES INTO THAT BRICK BUILDING!

SO I’m on the ground and in pain and I’m waving him off and yelling “GO! Get the TRUCKSTER!!!!  So Todd takes off running!  There is no way he’s going to catch it  The Truckster had about a 75 foot lead on him and was going about 10-15 miles per hour.  SHIT!  I said out loud.  While still on the ground and in pain, I’m watching and anticipating the collision in 10-9-8-7-6-…

(Cut to the chase)

So there’s my brother, bless his soul trying to chase it down.  I’m watching and waiting for the obvious outcome. Just then the front tire hits one of those parking cement stops and the front of the three wheeler goes into one of those jet airplane take off stances and wheelies for about 20 feet then lands with a big thud which jerks the wheel to the right and the vehicle turns and is going in another direction now. HOLY COW! I can’t believe my eyes,  talk about luck! With 5 seconds left before impact, THE TRUCKSTER turns away from the brick wall and my brother was able to head it off like linebackers do to running backs in a football game.  GOoooo TODDY!!  Todd jumped into that seat like a professional stunt man and stopped it from exiting the parking lot and into the street!  Todd drove back to the warehouse and I hid my limp when we went into our father’s office.  

I was alright after a few days. As a matter of fact I think I saw a beam of light shine down from the heavens that day just before the Truckster hit the Parking bumper. I guess we used up our quota of miracles for that month because a few weeks later, nothing stopped us from hitting and knocking down a stop sign next to the railroad tracks, but that’s another One Time Ago story.

in the Middle of a Horse race track/ Golf Course in Vallejo, CA.

Thank you for visiting and keep checking back for more true stories like this one!