Teddy Whalen and Family...

[Ron Hill]

FAN OF THE PAST HELLO RON, I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU RECEIVED MY EMAIL FROM THIS PAST WEEKEND. BUT NOW THAT I HAVE JOINED AS A MEMBER. I GUESS I HAD COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT IT WAS REALLY YOU! I REALLY JUST AMAZES ME THAT YOUR SON IS NOW A GROWN ONE AND IS RACING! IT JUST SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY THAT I WAS IN YOUR CLASSROOM AT ALAMITOS AND YOU SENDING ME TO THE FENCE AND BACK!! HA HA! JUST BECAUSE I WAS A LITTLE SMART BEEEEP! BELEIVE IT OR NOT GRADUATING CLASSES 79 THRU 82 ARE HAVING A CLASS RENUION AT THE CROWN PLAZA HERE IN IRVINE THIS WEEKEND! SO I HAVE TO FACE THE FACT THAT I AM REALLY GETTING YOUNG! ITS BEEN 24 YEARS SINCE MY GRADUATION! MY HOW TIME FLIES! WHEN YOU ARE MARRIED, RAISING KIDS AND LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST. WHICH I DO EVERYDAY! BECAUSE YOU NEVER NO WHAT THE NEXT DAY MY BRING! FROM EXPERIENCE I MIGHT SAY! TO NOTE ON THAT! LOOKS LIKE YOU AND THE FAMILY ARE STILL RACING! I REALLY DO MISS THE BOAT RACING FAMILY! I WILL MAKE IT TO A RACE SOMEDAY SOON I HOPE! I WAS CHECKING THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF YOUR WEBSITE AND PICTURES FROM THE PAST. THOUGHT I MIGHT JUST CATCH A GLIMPSE OR A PICTURE OF MY BROTHER! YOU TAKE CARE AND WRITE ME SOMETIME! Tammi, I hope you don't mind me posting your E-MAIL to me... FYI: TO BRF MEMBERS Tammi's brother died in a tunnel boat accident....I was Tammi and Teddy's Junior High Teacher. Tammi was a pain in the butt, and I got to know her parents, who at the time, I thought as pain in the butts, too... Teddy was different, he liked me from day one...After he left Junior High, he'd come by and ask to wash my car....I told him he should go over to John's Custom Marine, a few blocks from school and tell them you were my student and wanted a job...Ted went the next day and they hired him...Gave him terrible jobs, cleaning the ****ter, and such...He was 15 at the time, he worked there until his death 10 years later. Teddy raced kneeldowns....not sure where his first boat came from, but it either came from Al Stoker, John Stoker or myself... Old Man Ted Whalen went to work for John's too... When Teddy was killed, Al was using a capsule in his MOD VP, and was having one built for Ted's tunnel...I know that AL Stoker, John Stoker and myself blamed ourselves for him getting killed...Freddy Hauenstein, at my insistence, passed rules for capsules the following year... Teddy's death was awful, but by opening people's eyes to this awful event, safety rules were passed that saved many lives... Some where here on BRF, is my letter to APBA requesting action after Teddy's death...