A Walk to the Track ... and Back

As you can see, I had a "post position" for this shot 

of the sports car race Friday afternoon. The fencing,

steel cable and poles are all there for safety concerns,

but after having spent 20 years at the track in spots

unimpeded by the poles, it's frustrating to not be able

to take nice action shots of the racing.

On the way, I passed campers in the Coke Field, inhabiting 

everything from tents, trailers, made-over buses

and RVs of various sizes. I figured the people who have

this RV were doing their part to help women who

might not have health insurance, avoid

the expense of routine health exams.

How very, er, thoughtful.

About 30 minutes after the start of the sports car race, 

a massive plume of black smoke arose behind

the grandstand outside Turn One. I went to the top

tier of seats to see what was going on and saw

a structure fully engulfed in flames. In addition to providing

facilities for RVs, the site is a trailer park 

where people have homes. I later found out

that the air conditioner on an older RV is believed

to have overheated, starting the fire. No one 

was inside the vehicle, probably at the track,

so no one was lost or injured.

After the storms broke up and moved out of the area, 

the sun returned, bringing its best friend, humidity.

School is out for the summer, leaving this vast expanse of

the parking lot at Speedway High School, to absorb

the heat and reflect the glare from the early evening sun.

As I got closer to home, I walked through the park

where I found the playground full of little kids,

swarming all over the slides, swings, and climbing wall.

One of the soccer fields was being used

for a game by boys and men, while the other

corner was the scene of a sandlot softball game,

with teams made up of young men and women

of varying ages - teens to twenties. I was invited to play,

but whatever athleticism I had has become 

a white turd, spent and annoying.

The odd thing, which I think is most telling about the

changes over the past several years, is that virtually everyone

I saw in this neighborhood park was Hispanic.

A few African American families were present, but 

only one or two Caucasian kids dotted the mix.

This was not an accurate representation

of the neighborhood's population, for sure,

but more a reflection of the economic resources

available to the people who live here.