Race cars that dance to the music

It's Sunday morning, the sun is up and I am completely and totally relaxed. Over a year ago when Jon and I spoke about the possibilities of running the La Carrera Panamericana he asked me for a time-line which I tediously wrote up in great detail and in retrospect I am extremely satisfied with how well that time-line has served us especially considering how far behind the original body shop fell off that schedule before I was forced to take Lucky away from them. One of the last paragraphs in capital letters on that time-line was,

CAR MUST BE READY BEFORE END OF SEPTEMBER. NEED TIME TO RELAX BEFORE LEAVING. LOW STRESS.

Yes, there are still a few minor items Jon and I need to attend to on Lucky but with more than two weeks before we leave I can with all confidence honestly say, "Lucky if ready for the La Carrera Panamericana." I find those words so full of self satisfaction, personal achievement, content, peace of mind and reward but equally as important is the unselfish sacrifices made by family and friends that has allowed us all this personal glory and gloating to come to be.

I am sure the next two weeks will go by at a blistering speed but I intend to enjoy my family before leaving with only two relaxing weekends left. Any good driver will tell you that a good race car has many similarities to a doctors scalpel or even a musician's instrument. Owning a piano will not make the musician play like Billy Joel. Having a scalpel in one's hands will not help you perform a delicate surgery. Anyone can build a great race car to run a rally race but knowing exactly how to control, and make one perform much the same way that a Flamenco dancer and guitarist work together is quite another reality. Sure I am relaxed today but my mind still dreams of dancing thru the twisting mountain roads of Mexico while Jon uses the log book to strum out the musical notes we call speed.