DTV in Starke County and History at the Brickyard

First appeared on May 27th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

What a long strange trip it has been indeed for Helio Castroneves. Just some sixty days ago the ear to ear grin we expect to find on the IRL’s golden boy had been slapped clean off his face by the prospect of jail time. After managing to dodge a tax evasion conviction, Helio managed to dodge much more on Sunday in route to winning his third Indianapolis 500 title (becoming just the 9th man ever to do so). For kissing the bricks Castroneves pocketed 3 million dollars which, after taxes, totals to….well we’ll leave that to Helio’s accountant; you know the expert.
Sunday’s race had it all. The return of Jim Nabors, a controversial start which included a crash on the first lap and, not to mention, a woman flirting shamelessly with history all afternoon; heck there were even marbles on the track at one point.
But Sunday was not such a spectacle for my family. In fact I found myself wondering if Starke County was perhaps the only place in the country that had already made the switch to DTV as we spent the better part of the day wrestling with rabbit ears while trying to dial in an intelligible picture. Eventually we turned to the radio and, for me, listening to the race brought back a flurry of childhood memories.
Most of my Memorial Day weekends were spent in campgrounds with family and friends. I can vividly remember the sounds of sizzling steaks and radios crackling with the voice of Paul Page furiously working to call, with great alacrity, every twist and turn at Indianapolis. Sunday I discovered that, after all these years, many sounds still stir my emotions. Hearing “Back Home Again” and the fiery whine of those cars careening three wide into turn one still make the hairs on my neck stand up. Thanks to Sirius Satellite, I thought I even heard a few sounds I never dreamt of hearing before, such as the balloons being released and the cries of tiny Venezuelan children thousands of miles away cheering “Go Milka Go!” while clutching their bilingual children’s book of the same title (available on Amazon).
Since 1911 the Indianapolis 500 has done two things. It has thrilled the country and helped Americans remember that Memorial Day is a time for honoring fallen heroes. Whether it is the preamble being read aloud, the playing of Taps or jets flying over in the missing man formation, all signs point to reminding the 400,000 strong in attendance and millions nationwide why the weekend carries such a special feeling.
According to military orders, Memorial Day is for paying tribute at and decorating the graves of those who gave their lives for their country. With this in mind, the very fact the 500 is run on the Sunday before Memorial Day shows honor and respect for the day. So it becomes all the more puzzling that the IHSAA should choose to play the opening round of softball sectionals on Memorial Day. After all along with the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Christmas, Memorial Day is one of the few days of the year where EVERYBODY has plans; plans that don’t involve going to a high school sporting event. But that is another discussion for another time.
Of course, had you followed my advice last week (mortgaging your house to bet on Helio) you wouldn’t even be reading this right now. Instead you’d be sipping Mojitos on the beach of some island where the U.S. tax laws don’t apply; who knows maybe you’d have even scored a seat poolside in a chaise lounger next to Castroneves’ accountant.