When you write the book..................
Wayne:
Eileen and I look forward to each installment of the "Baldy" thread. You should write a book!! And of course on of the main reasons we look forward so much to each of your posts is the high affection we held for him, and you.
So far there is everything that goes into the making of a blockbuster, starting with a family patriarch (Baldy of course) rising from a fairly standard early upbringing in Texas, through much hard work, competitiveness and brainpower, and being in the right place at the right time and taking full advantage of it, achieving the American dream with a beautiful home on a lake, wonderful family of two boys and two girls, and then being thrust into the role of both Mother and Father to the kids when the Mother passes away suddenly before the children are out of their teens. Add to this the teen angst of losing your first love (face to face version of a "Dear John" letter) another love (unrequited because of age difference) all just barely by the age of 20, and then more interesting things yet to come and be revealed in the competitive world of PRO Boat Racing, both with one of the sons as a World Champion driver, and the Father as a World Class Promoter, and I doubt you can miss.
I have no doubt Hollywood will come calling in the near future offering a large contract for movie rights to the book.
I think there already should be no doubt who plays Wayne's part. None other than Brad Pitt!!
Perhaps a prize awarded for best casting suggestions for the other characters??? I would be most interested in Joe's thoughts on characters and who would play them.
Just so there is no misunderstanding.........
............Brad Pitt was NOT my choice, it was Eileen's.
You know how women are, suckers for a pretty face! And no, I can't figure out with that preference she married me!
I would vote for someone more from our own time frame, say Steve McQueen, or maybe Robert Redford.
And for Baldy, my choice would be William Conrad, who was the voice of Matt Dillon on the radio version of Gunsmoke, and also played Frank Cannon in the TV series "Cannon".
If you don't recognize the name to put together with a face, just Google the Cannon TV series and refresh your memory as to his appearance.
And Wayne, I think you may be very close to the truth when you bring up the reason you think he never married again. I would agree that Boat Racing and the characters in and around it filled a big void in his life after the death of your Mother and after you and your siblings were older and becoming involved in other things that did not involve his constant attention like you all did when younger., All of which, at least as far as I know about those things such as shooting, hunting, photography with both you and Jan, ect., he supported and encouraged you all in.
Add to the time he spent supporting you and your siblings activities with the fact he was a natural born "people person" salesman and promoter (although he did not suffer fools gladly), and the time he spent (and it took) to promote the local races he did, plus National events he provided much help for, and of course the number of World Championship events he was the driving force behind both time spent and money wise at Dayton and other locations, growing Alice Specality and his other business interests during this time frame, and he had a very full plate.
My recollections about this are based on my memory of many conversations between He and Eileen and I around the Kitchen bar the times we spent with him and enjoyed his friendship and hospitality. He certainly did not cover everything, but what he did talk about convinced us more than ever that he was VERY proud of you, and your siblings also.