He was just sort of smiling, and taking in my erratic behavior, when a hand came down over his shoulder and a tanned, dark-haired man with an English accent said, “I’m Gordon, I’ll be right down to talk with you.”
“Oh, okay… thanks, puff, good to see you again Frank, puff.” I make my way over to a fancy couch and sit down, I check the pulse in my neck and it is around three hundred beats per minute.
I see that Bob Varsha, Speed TV personality, is milling about and glances my way. I have met him twice now at Indy, but at this point I have no desire to speak with him. I notice a well-dressed, older man, pacing back and forth by the front desk. He occasionally looks at me, and I nod back in a friendly manner. Fifteen minutes pass as I sit alone on the couch, many thoughts go through my head, and I cannot seem to lose this somewhat scared/excited feeling. I decide to head back outside and quickly finish my beer. A beat-cop is walking towards me, as I approach my table. Then the NASCAR fan says “Ahm just watchin’ this camera fer that feller officer, he’s not a stealing it.” I finish my beer, thank the hick, and get back inside on the couch.
Finally the tanned man appears with the pacing older gentleman, sporting two tall steins of draft beer and sets them on the coffee table. “Would you like a beer? Heineken okay?” He asks with a relaxed smile.
“Where have I seen that smile before?” I think to myself. “Sure, whatever you guys are having is fine.” I reply. “Great, I’ll be right back.” He leaves me with the older guy who introduces himself, but I’ve since forgotten his name. Almost immediately he is back with my beer, and sits down on the couch next to me like we are old friends. “I’m Gordon, Sir Franks assistant, you’re Donald correct.”
“Yes”
“Well, persistence pays off for you. I’ll be getting you a paddock pass later, but let’s get right to it. Sir Frank loved your story! And he is looking forward to meeting with you tomorrow. We usually arrive at the track at 9 A.M., but you are free to show up as early as you like for breakfast. I must ask that you do not go into any of the other hospitality suites.”
“Oh, of course, no problem. I must admit though, I am feeling very nervous and a little excited about it all.”
“Oh don’t be nervous”, he says with a friendly laugh, and that smile again, “be excited!”
He and the other man start to talk about something but I only catch a few words, something about a guy who wants to get a F1 race in Vegas. The older guy is really hard of hearing, like me, and leans over and cups his ear to hear Gordon talking. “Well what does Sir Frank think of this guy.” The old guy asks in the most serious of manners, I can tell he is a little tipsy.
