Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Walking A Tightrope Over The Ohio River(pg. 8)


     We hit every backroad near Ohio River, and the light of day was falling over the horizon in this quiet lovely town, and we had to work in the morning, so we had to tell these gals goodbye in the saddest way.
     "Well sweetie, it's getting late, and we have to work tomorrow, what's your phone number?”  I  said praying she'd give it to me. 
     She asked for a pen and wrote it on a gum packet, and handed to me, and said, "You better call!" 
     "Don't worry honey, I will!" I said glancing one more time at her tanned legs.
     "You gonna give me yours?" Stingray said getting his priorities in line. 
     We left them by the curb where we found them because that's where they said they wanted to be left off. I wondered too if they were streetwalkers but damn good looking ladies regardless. We both told them goodbye and headed back to the motel. I thought I'll never hear from her again and who knows what phone number she gave me? I was young and never thought of it again.
     We all got out of bed early, but this weekend was different coming up, it was the "Madison Regatta" and it's a blast, a boat race like no other on the Ohio River where Miss Budweiser usually dominated every year or Atlas Van Lines, but that year the legend Bill Muncey won it, and that was the last year he ever won it too, Bill Muncey was called "Mr. Unlimited" who owned the record for hydroplane racing with 62 races, until his record was broken by Dave Villwock in 2011. Unfortunately, he would have broken every hydroplane racing record, but in Acapulco on October 18, 1981, when he was killed in a blow-over crash while traveling 175  miles per hour. He was 53 years old and was buried at Glen Abbey Memorial Park in Bonita, California. Thank God I got to see this legend win in 1979, his last win in Madison, he won 7 Madison Regatta titles. 
     That weekend we didn't head back to our hometowns, we visited our very first Madison Regatta festival, and it was great. I saw a man climb the very top of the Madison-Milton Bridge which measured from the top of the bridge to the Ohio River over 300-feet, the plunge to the swift-running water below was horrid to watch but he made it look like a ten-foot dive, but water police and river constables quickly nabbed him though, this was a huge drawing and they didn't need clowns endangering the hydroplane racers, the race was dangerous enough. 

                                                                      8 
                                                
                                                                     

     

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