AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175l)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175l)

The first step was to remove the access panel. It was located behind a small night stand and after moving it I could readily see that it been removed and replaced any number of times based on the condition of it. I popped it off and saw what I needed… the shut offs for both the hot and cold water right there in front of me. But I also saw something I didn’t expect to see and that was water dripping from around the packing nuts of both of them. I was concerned where the water was going so felt down the wall to what was actually the floor that the wall had been built on. There I felt some damp cloth and pulled it out and when I did I was shocked. There were two balled up cotton panties. I checked over my shoulder to make sure neither of the women had come back upstairs to check on my progress before opening them up. It was, more or less, a familiar sight in that they were Lollipop band leg panties like the ones Barbara, one of the girls that had lived there for the year before the present owners purchased it. They were completely stained from having been wet and lying on the unpainted wood for quite a while. I was able to read the labels and confirmed they were the same size as Barbara wore. That discovery had me wondering just why they were where they were… but not for long. I remembered that I’d become convinced that Barbara didn’t really have a bedwetting problem but was wetting herself on purpose. While at our house she was free to do it and then to fall back on bedwetting as an excuse. But, living at home with brothers and sisters it wouldn’t have been as easy. Of course there was no way to prove my theory but it was certainly a possibility. By then it was starting to get dark as the sun that had been streaming through the windows was disappearing so I went back to focusing on the plumbing problems.

I realized I should’ve been better prepared after taking the core of the faucet handles out. The rubber washer at the bottom of the stems had no ‘life’ to them just as I expected. But, when I went to take out the screws that held them in place the heads disintegrated as soon as my screwdriver touched them. Luckily, the kit I’d bought to change my own had spare screws. What should’ve taken a short period of time was becoming a real chore. And, because of that Mattie had come to check on my progress. As I’ve previously described Mattie, she preferred to wear skirts (short) as opposed to shorts because she was a bit plump. I was on my knees and working through the hole in the wall when she walked up behind me and squatted down to see what I was doing. I turned around to see what would’ve been an absolute fantastic upskirt view of her crotch except for the fact that the light was getting dim. There wasn’t enough light to tell the color of them but it was still a nice sight.

I want to make one thing clear at this point… Mattie was nothing like Lynda in her actions. In Lynda’s case it was deliberate when she gave me a panty peek. Mattie was, for lack of another word, careless. After I’d inspected the panties I had just laid them over the handle of my tool tray. As Mattie stood up she pointed to my tray and asked what was on it. Talk about embarrassment!. I didn’t know exactly what to say other than I’d found them in the opening. She had a funny look on her face but didn’t stay long and I finished up a short time later. When picking up I balled the panties back up and tried to hide them on the tray hoping that Mattie wouldn’t see them when I was leaving. But that was too much to hope for. I made it to the screen door but Mattie followed me out onto the small porch. She started by thanking me and followed it by asking what she owed me. I wasn’t planning on getting paid so just shrugged my shoulders and told her I wouldn’t think of being paid. I don’t remember what else she said until she pointed to the tray and the two balls of cloth. She, hesitatingly, asked if I had any idea why the panties were there. Again, all I did was to shrug my shoulders.

Back in my garage I decided there was no point in keeping them. However, it got me to thinking of why and how they’d ended up where they did. I wasn’t sure which room Barbara had shared with her older sister but if it had been that one and she discovered how easy it was to remove the panel… it made sense. Possibly she’d forgotten about them or they’d fallen, gotten wet from the leak, and decided to just leave them. With this thought process going through my mind it got me to thinking about the fact that the room  she’d slept in when living with us was also the room that had the access panel for the tub plumbing. Walking into the house I wanted to go upstairs to check to see if by some chance she’d done the same thing with some of her wet panties when living with us. I was headed upstairs when Elle called to me telling me she was sorry she’d gotten upset with me earlier. I knew I better accept the apology when offered so stopped and headed for the den. It wasn’t long before the kids were headed for bed and that killed any chance of following up on my idea of checking the panel in Anne’s room. It would have to wait for another time.

I’ve mentioned that August was the slowest month for lobby traffic at the bank. I was ready for it knowing that there would probably any number of late nights coming up as we went to work on the race car. In reading my notes in my DayTimer preparing to write this I had to shake my head remembering the situation. I’ve written about the bank having to go through three separate financial audits per year and my frustrations dealing with them. I could tolerate the Federal and State ones but the one where we were required to have an outside accounting firm come in was a total waste of time (and money). The Feds and State, recognizing that the Summer months were when most employees were on vacation, didn’t do their audits in July and August. However, the accounting firm the bank hired had deemed it best to come during August this year. That wasn’t the worst part. The people they sent to do the audit were mostly recent college graduates with little to no experience. They arrived just before 9am and I soon went ballistic. The first thing any of them do is to count all the cash. That means the tellers can’t wait on customers until they’ve finished. While I stood there watching, fuming, they took their own sweet time. It was twenty minutes before they were through with the cash drawers with the vault still to go. By then I’d had it and told the tellers to start waiting on the customers. The head examiner screamed at me not to do it but I ignored him. I then spoke to each and every one of the customers waiting in lines apologizing for the wait. There were a few who were really upset but, thankfully, no one closed their account. When I finished with that and was headed for my desk I saw Bert, the president, and the man in charge of the audit waiting for me. I knew it wouldn’t be good.

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175k)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175k)

It wasn’t long before a couple of people came in to the bank and hailed Bret. They had a newspaper in their hand and, excitedly, showed him something from the paper. Bret turned towards me and waved me over. There, in the paper, was the picture I posted in the previous post. It seemed unreal that a local racer made a major market daily newspaper. Over the course of the afternoon there were more people who knew that Bret and C J were friends and came in to ask how C J was doing. Bret would point to me to say that I’d actually seen the crash. I was like a minor celebrity as I described what I’d seen. As far as actual productive work being done… it wasn’t much.
++++++++++++++++
Note: There was a photographer who got the whole sequence from the initial contact between the two cars right upon until C J’s car went over the wall with the chain link fence wrapped all around the car. I have the pictures and thought I’d pulled the right file from my storage area but it wasn’t. I had to go on line to pull the picture I posted. The sequence of pictures won the photographer a major media award.
++++++++++++++++
I went out and bought the same newspaper that I’d been shown to take home to show Elle. When I told her that all C J had were some bruises she thought I was lying. After seeing the picture she wanted to know all about the weekend. Normally, the only conversation we had about racing was about where we finished and just how much damage had been done to the car. She seemed truly interested. Cliffy had told the crew that we weren’t going to unload the car on Monday night and that we’d meet Tuesday night. Elle was happy to have me home on a Monday, not that she had anything special planned, but when I told her we’d probably be working every night the rest of the week… I got one of ‘those’ looks that indicted she wasn’t very happy. I changed the subject by asking about the “news” she’d mentioned when I asked her about her weekend in the morning when I arrived home.

Her answer was a typical one for her when she was upset. “It doesn’t really matter… forget I said anything”. That made me mad and I demanded to know what it was… or had been. She finally broke down and told me that Junior (from next door) wanted some help with a plumbing problem. My reaction, because I was mad at Elle, wasn’t very cordial and I made a  negative comment about them seeming always to need/want something. Elle sprang to their defense saying that they reciprocated whenever they’d asked. I acknowledged it and told her I was just thinking back to all the involvement I’d had with the residents of the house since we bought our house. I continued by complaining that it seemed like everyone who lived there had no practical ability (or common sense) and I was just tired of being their handyman. Elle had nothing to say so the conversation ended. Here I was at home on a night I wouldn’t normally be home and Elle and I’d gotten Elle upset. In a way it was like a lost night. I tried to make amends by asking the girls if they wanted to play games on the lawn but Elle told them not to because I was in a “grumpy mood”. At that point I wished we were working on the car.

Not having been home all that much during the Summer I decided to straighten up the garage and shed. I was in the process of moving a bunch of stuff when in walked Martha. In spite of the fact that she was wearing a halter top (with substantial cleavage showing) I wasn’t in the mood for a visit. I made a concerted effort not to be ’short’ with her in asking if she was looking for Elle. She said she was looking for me and before I could say anything she proceeded to ask if I could come over to look at the bathtub as they couldn’t turn the water off. I definitely remember taking a big, deep breath and telling myself not to say what I was thinking. I started to make an excuse but then put down the things I had in my hand and walked towards her.

I’ve written in earlier posts that I believed that the two houses were built by the same person. There were a lot of similarities about the ‘core’ of both houses even though from the outside they didn’t look the same. The living rooms, dining rooms and the four bedrooms were all in very similar locations and size. Another similarity was the center hall on both floors with the lone full bathroom located on the second floor in the front of the house. However, ours was in the Dutch Colonial style and the neighbor’s house could loosely be described as a Tudor. I’d discovered the original blueprints to my house and had seen a lot of red pencil marks indicating additions the the sisters who had had the house built had made. The people who Elle and I had bought ours from had made major additions to the house by enlarging the kitchen and adding a ‘breakfast nook’ to it as well as adding a den like room to the living room and  a screened in porch. But, as I just wrote, I believed the cores were the same and I was familiar with the plumbing for our tub.

I didn’t say much as we made our way through the hedge that separated the two properties. Even though Mattie and Junior’s father had made some updates to the house, as we made our way through the kitchen to the hallway and stairs I was comparing the two houses and could definitely see the similarity. That would make what I was looking for a lot easier when we got to the bathroom. The tub filled the West wall from the front of the house to the wall that was part of the entryway to the Northwest bedroom. In my house there was a 12 inch by 18 inch panel in the bedroom wall that separated the two rooms. It gave access to the tub plumbing and seeing it I felt better. Martha showed me how badly the faucet was dripping and it was substantial. Since we both relied on septic tanks for our sewerage I knew that it wouldn’t be long before theirs would have to be pumped out if it didn’t get fixed. Having fixed ours I knew exactly what I needed in the way of both parts and tools so told Martha I’d be right back and headed back to my garage. On the way out Mattie stoped me to ask how big  a problem it would be to fix and I remembered what I’d been thinking when I’d been talking to Elle about being their handyman.

It took but a few minutes to get what I needed and as I was doing it Elle appeared in the doorway to the garage wanting to know what I was doing. When I told her I could see the start of a smile in the corners of her mouth. Back at their house, I found both women playing games with their kids. They asked if I needed any help and I told them I didn’t and made my way up the stairs. I had no idea who occupied which bedroom. When Martha and I had been in the room I was there for only a minute and didn’t look around. However, with no one with me I had the luxury of taking a good look. I noticed a pile of clothes on the end of one bed and knew I’d have to take a quick look at it. As soon as I picked up the towels that were on top t was obvious they were adult clothes and there were panties right there. As I’ve written any number of times one of my favorite things was in knowing who made the panties that women I knew wore. I took the top two pair and opened them up and knew immediately they belonged to Mattie by the size of them. They were both made by Vanity Fair with one being a pale lavender and the other an off white. I put them back and started in on the plumbing repair.

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175j)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175j)

When I got back to pit road Cliffy was out of the car and was standing there with his helmet in his hand and a perplexed look on his face. Both Dick and Alan were on the ground looking under the car. I walked around to the back and could see it was covered with a film of oil/grease but it was like it had been sprayed onto the trunk of the car. No matter which gear Cliffy tried to put the car in it wouldn’t move. I heard Cliffy say he heard a grinding sound even above the roar of the motor and then the engine revved up and the car slowed. He said he was lucky to make it back to the pit road. It was certainly discouraging after all that we’d gone through to get there. The actual pit area and the hauler were located down between the first and second turns. We started to push it by hand but were told by the official to stop as there was the possibility of cars pulling in at any time. So, we just stood there and started watching the race. I really wasn’t interested in the race anymore so headed back to the hauler. I figured I could put the ramps down to save time when the race was over. The car haulers were parked right at the fence and as I pulled the first ramp off the bed I heard a screeching of tires and then a crash. I looked up and saw the roof of C J’s car as it was getting higher and higher in the air. I watched as it started to come down on top of the cement wall at the top of the turn. The next thing I saw was his car getting sort of wrapped up by the chain link fence that was there to keep parts and pieces of cars from doing damage outside the track. I remember standing there almost dumbstruck, not able to move. When I got my senses back I could see a big red car right up against the wall and facing the wrong way. I figured it had to have been involved and may have caused the crash. It wasn’t long before there were a lot of people clinging to the fence and a wrecker and ambulance to pulling up to the wall. I could barely see C J’s car because it was clearly over the wall. The race was stopped at that point and declared over.

         

C J just about to leave the track

The weekend was a disaster… not only for us and C J (BTW; he wasn’t hurt) but all the racers. We’d been told we’d get $1,000 to show up and take the green flag. The problem was that the promoter of the race was counting on having a big crowd to show up but it was a very small group that actually paid to watch. When the word started to spread though the pit area that we weren’t going to get paid anything it didn’t take long for a full fledged ‘angry mob’ to form. Long story short, they headed for the race track offices only to find the door locked. Someone broke the window in it and, after clearing the glass from the frame, a bunch of the racers climbed through and confronted the promoter. In the end there was no payoff for the race and each team was offered $300 if they would sign a paper holding the promoter harmless. Someone, who supposedly had some knowledge of the law, told the group that if they didn’t sign they could sue the promoter… but pointed out the fact that there was no official document issued by him guaranteeing the $1,000. He told us to take the $300 and go home. It was a lesson learned!

By the time everything got sorted out and we finally got the car up on the bed of the hauler it was close to 8pm… and we were all looking forward to getting back home. As it had been all season, Elle was babysitting Cliffy and Beth’s youngest child and Beth had made calls to check up on him. Even though I didn’t speak with Elle, at least she knew what was going on. She told Elle we would try to make it home that night but I had my doubts. Before we left the track Cliffy had a chance to speak to “Seeg”, C J’s father and was told he was OK but probably would have quite a few bruises when he woke up in the morning. They were staying overnight to give C J a chance to recover. Freddy, who was credited with finishing 4th, had left as soon as he got his money.

Since the hauler was still owned by Cliffy’s father he’d limited the driving to either Cliffy or Dick. The plan was for Dick to drive half way with Alan and I riding in the truck to keep him awake with Cliffy to drive the second half. As I said, that was the plan. But plans get changed for various reasons. In this case it was because the hauler decided it wasn’t going to co-operate. We made it to the New Jersey Turnpike by the time it was dark. It was almost like the power of the motor decreased as the sun went down. Fortunately, we made it to the first rest stop so we weren’t stranded on the side of the road. There was a service garage at the stop but, being a Sunday night, it was manned by a skeleton crew. Cliffy was able to determine the problem was in the ignition but needed parts to attempt to make the repair. The men who were there knew next to nothing about repairs and less than that about what kind of parts were at the shop. Cliffy tried to persuade them to let him go look but they refused to open (or maybe they didn’t have the keys) the room where their parts were stored. So, we ended up sleeping (?) in the station wagon and cab of the hauler. Being August, it was still warm. In fact, it was downright hot as it had been all day. All of us, at least the guys, needed a shower back when we were leaving the track. Now, at 10pm, in the small cab of the truck, it was more than obvious.

The service part of the rest stop opened for business at 6am and by 7am we were on the way home. We ended up getting to the city just about the time all the delivery trucks were making their first deliveries of the week slowing us down... a lot. I’d talked with Elle and told her call Bret to let him know I’d be more than a little late. I told her to tell him that the last word we’d heard was that C J was OK. After hanging up I realized that the statement wouldn’t mean anything unless he knew about the crash. But, there wasn’t time to call her back. When we stopped for the last time I switched over to ride with Beth and Ra. Beth would going to our house to pick up her baby so it made sense. She left Ra off at her house first and when we pulled up my driveway Elle had the baby in our old carriage with our girls pushing it around. They really loved having a real baby to play with rather than their toy ones.

Elle and Beth talked while I ran inside to shower and get dressed for work. By the time I was ready to leave Beth had gone. I asked Elle if there was anything new and she said it could wait until I got home. I hated it when she’d do that but I also wanted to get in to work to cover at least the last part of lunch breaks so didn’t push it. It wasn’t quite 1pm when I walked in and expected to see Bret… but he wasn’t there. I asked Joanie where he was and she just shook her head. He usually took the first lunch break so his wife could get off to work. But, he wasn’t there. In fact he didn’t get back until close to 2pm. I wasn’t pleased especially when I’d about killed myself to get in as soon as I could and without eating anything for lunch. When I asked where he’d been his answer made sense. When Elle told him about C J he’d called C J’s mother to find out what she was talking about. She, of course, told him about the crash but also said they’d just pulled into their yard… and Bert took off to go see him.

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175i)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175i)

We anticipated that we’d be in Dover around 5am. However, when we stopped to check on the race car Beth broke the news that she couldn’t find the slip of paper with the name of the motel we had reservations at. Cliffy and Freddy rode with Beth and Ra in his station wagon so they could get some sleep. From the rest stop it was about one hour until we saw the big roadside sign welcoming us to the city of Dover. Freddy’s crew (and wife Gerry) were staying at the same place so it was decided to just pull into each motel that came up to find Freddy car and hauler. I don’t remember how many we tried before finding it. However, the office was closed and we had no idea what rooms Freddy’s crew and wife were in. There were around 50 rooms at the place. It was built in the form of big W with the pointy thing in the middle of it being a restaurant. The decision was made to split into two groups and to walk from the office  towards the road hoping to find that Gerry or a crew member had left some sort of message. We all had chalk boards that we used to identify our pit space when the cars were on the track. Sure enough, they had. Gerry answered and also had the keys to our two rooms. Thank goodness! Cliffy and Freddy had been able to sleep but Alan and I had to keep Dick awake and we were almost out on our feet.

The track was to open at 7am to let cars into the pit area. Safety inspection of the cars was to start at 8am but the cars wouldn’t be let on the track until noon… local law. It was decided that we’d try to get four hours of sleep and show up for the inspection at 10am. I can tell you that it was a very fast four plus hours. However, Beth and Ra had gotten up early and gone to a diner just down the road and to get egg sandwiches and coffee for us. Driving into the infield was truly and ‘eyeopener’. The entrance was halfway down the front straightaway and when we pulled onto the track we quickly found out that it was banked more than the turns at our Saturday night track. In the cab of the hauler we had to put our hands on the dash to stay in our seats. The next thing was the pit area. Covered with metal benches to work on and level concrete as a floor… it was hard to believe. The first thing I noticed in the pit area was the lack of race cars. We’d been led to believe there would be at least 50 of the same class as ours. When I made a quick tour of the pit area there were less than two dozen. Adding in the larger, late model cars I figured there were about 35 in all. The main thing we had to do to go through the inspection process was to purge the fuel lines of the alcohol we’d been running. But it wasn’t that easy. We were required to run a fuel cell with foam in it and we needed either new foam or foam that had been used with gas. By then it was almost noon and the cars were lining up for practice. No foam… no race track. 

The cars were only on the track for a few minutes when the sound of the motors stopped. We were going from race team to race team hoping against hope that one might have a new set when the noise was quelled. The pit area was down in the first and second turn and when I saw people running towards the fence I looked out onto the track. One of the larger cars had hit the outside wall and spun down the track. I made my way down to the fence and saw a wrecked, smoking car just off the racing surface. I watched the driver get out and got the idea to find his team and to ask if we could use the foam from the call in the car.  Long story short, they agreed. By the time the foam was transferred we’d missed the first practice session which was  not a good thing for us. 

During the break between practice sessions the promoters of the races announced that both classes of cars would be racing together. The reaction to that news was definitely not greeted positively by the owners and drivers of our class of cars. That caused a mini panic and a meeting was quickly called for the owners and drivers of both classes of cars. What was agreed was that the purse money for both classes would be added together increasing the winnings for the winner and the next nine cars. To get the final OK to proceed the promoters agreed to let our class of cars start in front of the bigger cars.

Cliffy finally got on the track and only made a few laps at full speed before pulling in. He talked with Dick and Alan and they got under the front end and made an adjustment and sent him back out. He made a few more laps and pulled in again with more adjustments being made. In all, he got about a dozen laps in before the session was over. Time trials to establish starting positions were to start soon after and  we were to be the fifth car to go out. I asked Alan what Cliffy had told him about the track and I remember Alan rolling his eyes but not getting an answer.

We ended up turning a lap at 124.99 mile per hour. At that moment it was the fastest lap ever turned on a one mile track by a car in our class. It ended up being the fifth the fastest time but it was still exciting to start that far up, especially when looking at some of our competition. We started ahead of both C J and Freddy which was also a thrill. When the race started there were only 32 cars. A couple of more were eliminated by crashes in practice and a couple from our class didn’t want to race against the bigger cars. I had seen “Seeg”, C J’s father, when the cars were lining up on the track and he was very concerned about the bigger cars. The race was supposed to start at 3pm but because of the problems it was closer to four. The distance was 100 miles so there was no doubt it would finish in daylight. When the cars made there way around the track for the parade lap my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it when I put my hand on my chest.

At the start Cliffy fell back to seventh and stayed there until the first crash when the yellow flag came out to slow the cars. By the time thirty five laps had gone by there were only 25 cars still running. Cliffy was back up to 5th when the race restarted. What was impressive to me was he was still in front of a couple of cars that were considered to be among the fastest in our division.

       

We are #21

Right after the race restarted I had to go back to the hauler for a tool that Alan needed to make an adjustment on the front end the next time there was a caution. I was just starting back when I saw Cliffy coasting into the pit area. The reason... the transmission had broken.
To be continued...

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175h)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175h)

Anticipation about our racing weekend trip and racing at the new track made the week creep by. Bret had been up to C J’s barn and reported back that C J was a bit leery of the track after finding out that 18 out of 32 cars that raced in the first race at the track had crashed or blown their motors… but he was still planning on racing. Hearing those statistics made me leery as well. By the time I left work on Friday night I was really nervous. When we raced in the Championship the previous October I’d already been to that track and seen six races so had a good idea of what to expect. In fact, over a dozen cars that we raced against on Saturday nights were also there and the drivers readily shared their experiences. For this track there were no other like racers to get information from. What concerned me even more was we’d only get a total of forty minutes practice in which to figure out how to set the car up. But, Cliffy was dead set on going.

I had the normal weekend chores to keep me busy Saturday morning and, for a change, was ready when Dick drove up with the racer car hauler We had to pick up Alan and Buster on the way to the track. I was surprised to find out we were pick Buster up but Dick said he wasn’t going on to Dover. I’d brought two changes of clothes with me and hoped it would be enough. When we got to the track Freddy was there waiting for us. He had some bad news. The Dover promotors hadn’t put out much information in the way of rules and what we’d heard was you could run what you raced with at your local track. But, somehow Freddy had discovered that the track didn’t allow alcohol as a fuel… and we were still running Freddy’s fuel injection set up and alcohol. While we unloaded the car Cliffy went to the track steward, Butch, to get confirmation. He found out Freddy was right but, we could still use the fuel injection system but had to run gas. It wasn’t good news but it was better than having to remove the fuel injection and replace it with a traditional intake manifold and carburetor.

We were all still grumbling about having to drain the alcohol out of the fuel cell when our qualifying heat was called out onto the track. We’d pretty much established that we were in the upper echelon of the regular racers which had us in the third heat. The only good thing about that was we’d be starting in the front. We’d had no real trouble finishing among the top six (out of 12 to 15) cars and avoiding the ‘last chance’ race. Freddy and C J were in the same race but were back a few rows. We started second, outside on the front row. I don’t think any of us were worried… but we should’ve been. The car that started on the inside was a good car and the driver was not considered to be a problem. However, when the green flag dropped that car on the inside never turned left and went straight taking us into the guardrail. It all happened so fast that I didn’t see what happened right behind us except to know that no one hit us. They had to stop the race to clean up the mess. Of the twelve cars that started only seven were able to continue. We got towed into the pits and as we saw the damage knew there was no chance we’d be going to Dover. However, we had to replace all the parts on the right front suspension just to get the car back up on the bed of the hauler. Alan started pulling the needed spare parts out of the locker on the truck while Dick and I started stripping the damaged parts off the car. It wasn’t long before Freddy was there to survey the damage. He didn’t stay long but when he left he told Cliffy to come get him when we finished it up. 

One of the biggest draws for the track was figure eight racing. Larry, the promoter, was one of the first in the country to offer it. Cars used the corners of the track but not the straight aways. Coming off the turns they would race through the infield from one side of the track to the other with the chance that they would collide in the middle. For all intents and purposes it was a more sophisticated demolition derby. The fans would ooooh and aaah at the close calls but every so often there would be a crash. On this night there was a very serious one causing one of the drivers to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. Racing was halted until it returned to the track. It was while the races were stopped that we got the car so we could move it. Looking at it we could see there was a still a problem as the front wheels didn’t line up with the rear wheels. Freddy had made a couple of trips over to see how we were doing and while he was there the last time Butch, the chief steward asked if we were going to run in the “last chance” qualifying race. Cliffy shook his head from side to side but Freddy mentioned that there were only six cars listed and suggested that Cliffy go out and just ride around. If only one car dropped out then we’d be qualified for the main event. Cliffy wasn’t ‘buying’ it but Butch told him if that happened all we had to do was take the green flag and we’d get $50. Since we had put the effort in to get it to this point the rest of us urged Cliffy to go ahead and do it.

Two cars didn’t finish the ‘last chance’ race so we made the lineup for the feature and Cliffy turned one lap to earn our $50. He pulled into the infield to wait until the race was over but there was a major crash that stopped the race. That allowed Cliffy to get into the pits. We immediately went about loading the car onto the hauler. We were about ready to leave when we heard there were only a few laps to go to the end of the race so we went out to the pit grandstand to see who would win. Freddy finished second with C J right behind him. We were walking back to the truck when the cars started entering the pit area from the track when Freddy’s car went past us and he was yelling for Cliffy to follow him to his pit. I was ready to head home and not in any mood to party… but Cliffy followed Freddy’s car.

Dick followed Cliffy but Alan and I continued on to the hauler. I remember us talking about the good luck we’d had for the past month and ruing the fact that we got crashed the night before the big race at Dover. I remember Alan telling me how he was going to spend his Sunday working on his house. Before long we saw Cliffy and Dick running towards us. By then, Beth and Ra had showed up. Cliffy told us we were headed for Freddy’s auto body shop. He had a frame straightener and Freddy thought he could fix our race car and that we could still make it to Dover. I know I had to have rolled my eyes after hearing that. 

Freddy’s shop was about a half hour away. Cliffy told us that Freddy’s car and crew would be heading to Dover along with C J as soon as they got their cars loaded and that Freddy would then go with us. We pulled into his place and saw the doors open in one bay with the lights on. Freddy was in business with his brother but the brother had nothing to do with racing… but he was there waiting for us. We got the car unloaded and onto the straightening rig in no time at all. In  about a half hour the car was back out on the ground and Alan and Dick were ‘stringing’ the car. (Stringing is the term used for measuring critical points on the car to make sure that various components are aligned properly.) That took almost as long as the frame straightening did but when they were done the mis-alignment was less than a quarter of an inch. It wasn’t long after that were headed for Dover. It was around 1am. What a night!

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175g)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175g)

When I glanced at Morris I could see a bit of a smile in the corners of his mouth. Nothing was ever said about it but is a ‘forever’ memory. In thinking about it, later, it was hard to reconcile the gesture with the staid and no nonsense Morris that I’d known. It made me wonder what else was going on in his head. I had no idea when I’d see Maryellen again but when I did I knew I'd have more than just the architectural aspect to think of.

When the guys got together to load the race car on Friday night more time was spent on planning for the following weekend then on the next night of racing. “Fairlane" John stopped by to give us the money he promised for the tires we’d need for the ‘open competition’ race to be held at the new one mile NASCAR track in Dover Delaware. Only one race had been held at the track and it was for NASCAR’s top division, the Grand National cars and Richard Petty had won by six laps. There was not much information for us to use to set the car up since the Grand National cars were totally different… heavier, longer, different size tires, etc. What we did know was that we were going to see a track like no other. It was one mile in length and the turns were banked 24 degrees and what we all thought was amazing, the straightaways were also banked at 9 degrees. The Chief Steward at the track where we raced at on Saturday nights had told the drivers and owners who were thinking about racing there to make sure their cars were ready as they would be facing stresses that they’d never seen before as they’d be going at speeds they’d never seen before. As of that Friday night there were only four cars from our regular track that were planning on going… even with the guaranteed $1,000 the promotors were offering. Cliffy was glad that two of the three were friends… C J and Freddy. He told us that we’d travel as a small caravan and leave right after the regular Saturday night races were over. It was approximately three hours to get to the track so, if everything went well, we’d get there about 3am. The track didn’t open until 8am and no on track activity was allowed until noon so we’d be able to get some sleep. With all that said he asked if there was anyone who wasn’t going. There was no surprise when Buster mumbled something about having to do something with his wife and that that he wasn’t going. All the rest of us just stood there smiling. The one we didn’t have an answer for was Robob because he didn’t come on Friday nights unless we had real problems getting the car ready. As we left for the night there would be six definite including Beth and Ra, Cliffy and Dick’s wives.

The races on Saturday night were, thankfully, relatively calm… at least as far as we were concerned. No wrecks that involved us and a top ten finish made it successful. That meant we could spend the week going over each and every nut and bolt on the car. Before leaving the track Cliffy met with both C J (who had won the feature race that night) and Freddy to confirm the travel plans for the next weekend. Cliffy was a ‘hard read’ so there was no outward signs of his being nervous about the track. I pretty much knew that his experience racing at the 2 1/2 mile track at Daytona was the reason. I wondered about both C J and Freddy although Freddy had been racing for over ten years and at all size tracks. Even with Cliffy’s calmness I, for one, was nervous.

It turned out to be, for a change, a normal Sunday for me with all classes of sailboats racing. Not to my real surprise, a couple of the skippers who had left the club a while back all in a ‘huff’ over chaperoning of the junior sailing participants, returned. I kept my distance and away from the ensuing conversations. Seeing them made me a little mad and I guess I showed it out on the race course by winning both my races. That was truly a rarity as I still hadn’t gotten the ’hang’ of racing the Sunfish type sailboat. One noticeable thing was that neither of the loud mouth mothers who had precipitated the whole thing were there.

There are no notes as to what took place at work for that week… just about the preparation of the race car. I spun the rod and main bearings out and replaced them while Cliffy went over the transmission and Dick and Alan replaced all the bearings in the rear end. I knew we had to do it but I also realized we were ‘eating’’ a lot of our guaranteed money to do it. I rationalized it by thinking we wouldn’t have to do it all again for the Championship weekend in October. As usual for a Monday night, Davo stopped by with his girlfriend, Leigh. He told us he’d be going to Dover but not until Sunday morning. He was bringing his friend, Adam, (who was also one of the basketball players from our ill fated attempt at competing) but not Leigh. When I heard that I looked at her and she didn’t look unhappy with the news.

On Tuesday I was feeling a bit guilty about being away the upcoming weekend so suggested to Elle that she pack a picnic supper and that we go for an evening sail. The day was clear and the moon would be about full so it seemed like a good idea. I knew Anne would be all for it or at least I thought she would. That’s the trouble with spur of the moment ideas or suggestions… for them to work you have to have cooperation from the others. Long story short, Elle had played tennis with Aurelia and Martha that afternoon and Aurelia had invited all the kids to her house for an ice cream social and to go swimming in her pool. Right from the time they’d installed it I questioned why since we had some of the best swimming beaches in the area. BUT… the idea of swimming in a pool, and a lighted one at that, was too much of a ‘draw’. Then, with ice cream on top of that it was just too much for them to turn down. 

Elle didn’t immediately turn down my suggestion saying that she’d go talk with Martha and Mattie. She didn’t tell me what it was about so I went ahead and changed my clothes. I was back downstairs when she returned and said “We’re free”. The women from next door said they’d watch our kids. She’d changed from her tennis clothes and had on a nice short set. After making some tuna salad sandwiches she said was going to put on a partial package. I, immediately, started shaking my head from side to side reminding her that it would just be the two of us. I got a half hearted smile in return but she made no effort to go and change. I was already contemplating a very, very nice evening.

I loaded the sails and gear into the station wagon and was just about to start the car when I remembered the camera. When I got out I heard a very loud “No pictures!”. That ended that. Pulling in the driveway for the marina I thought about the two girls I’d observed earlier in the week on the big sailboat. However, when I looked down the road there was no longer a tall mast.  That’s also when I remembered the panties and top I’d found in the rest room were still under the seat of my car. Oooops!  I got the boat rigged and the outboard attached and we on our way. It was a perfect night. Enough wind to propel the boat without having to ‘work’ making it a relaxing voyage. I’d hoped to get in a little ‘pee play’ but Elle wouldn’t let me saying she didn’t have to go and didn’t want to stain her shorts. That was a big disappointment. However, she agreed to a picture when we went to bed. It was better than nothing.

...note the bikini panties...

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175f)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175f)

Morris and the branch committee meeting had my attention all day Tuesday. After what Morris and told me I fully expected Hobie to tell me about the meeting… but there was not a word. It was about mid morning on Wednesday when he called me to his desk. Even though I knew (at least I hoped I knew) what he was going to tell me, I was excited. But, all he had to say was there would be a branch committee meeting. He didn’t say anything about Morris or what it was about. Confused, I took the opportunity to ask if he knew the purpose and if there had been any ‘movement’ on the branch application. I remember the look he gave me. He frowned and paused before asking me if he hadn’t told me that the application was on the Banking department’s schedule to be approved. I told him that that was “news to me”. He apologized and told me to take a seat and brought me up to date. In a way it was hard not to smile because Morris had kept me ‘in the loop’. What his telling me did was to give me the opportunity to ask if I was to be in attendance.  Again, he frowned. He asked if I’d not been at the last committee meeting and when I shook my head in a negative motion he asked why. He’d been on vacation so wasn’t aware that I’d been told it was a “closed meeting”. After I told him he was a bit upset but was more forthcoming with what was on the agenda for this meeting.

When Morris had told me about the meeting he said nothing about what was to be discussed. When Hobie told me that Morris was bringing an architect who did nothing but design branch bank facilities I got excited. The news told me, for sure, that Morris was in control. I don’t remember anything else until early that afternoon. It was impossible to miss Morris.. Fairly short and a bit stocky, he always looked unkempt. As soon as he started across the lobby I pointed him out to Trish telling her a little bit about him. I do remember her kind of snickering. Seeing me, he walked up to the entry gate of the platform. There was a youngish looking woman with him and, at first, I didn’t want to believe she was the architect, but she was. Morris introduced her to me and I was trying not to be negative about it. Any time Morris opened his mouth you knew he was from the city. But the woman, probably in her early 30’s, had no accent at all. Her name was Maryellen and after Morris gave me her credentials I felt better. One statistic I made note of was that she’d designed over two dozen branch bank buildings. Morris added that her specialty was in working with branch sites that were “unusual”… and, after the problems we’d had with getting ingress and egress approvals and providing adequate parking, there wasn’t much space left to work with. I couldn’t wait for the meeting.

I should’ve expected that it wouldn’t go that easy, especially with “Polack Joe” a member of the committee. The chairman had been given the title because he was the longest tenured Trustee, not because he had the most to offer in the way of leadership. Maryellen stated her background, showed some unique branch designs and was asked if she thought our space was “workable”. I wrote down her answer… “I can make any space workable.” There was some discussion before someone made a motion to contract with her. There were some concerns expressed but nothing major.

Once she was approved for the project it got crazy. I won’t bore you with details but there was one thing that came up that was unbelievable. One Trustee asked if she could design the space in such a way that should the branch not be successful it could be readily sold as a restaurant like a McDonalds. I sat there in disbelief… as did Morris. Before the woman could formulate an answer another Trustee made it a motion. Luckily, reason was restored and the motion never came to a vote. However, it had taken so long to get to this point that it was time for the Mortgage committee meeting. Morris and the architect were charged with coming up with some preliminary plans to be presented to the committee in October before being excused. I’d just been an observer up to then and as Morris gathered his materials in preparation for leaving I almost couldn’t believe it when he stated, very pointedly, to the committee that Maryellen would be working very closely with me to make sure that, from an operations standpoint, the bank would get what it wanted. I looked at “Polack Joe” after hearing that and was waiting for him to make some sort of comment… but he didn’t. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled inwardly.

Morris and the architect had driven out from the city. Hobie and I were pinning down some deadlines when she abruptly asked where the restrooms were. As I’ve previously written, space had become a problem as the bank had grown and Hobie’s ‘area’ was actually under the curved stair that led to the mezzanine level of the bank. It was also the area right outside the lone restroom allocated for customers. It had always been a problem to keep it constantly maintained during the day as Mike, the messenger/custodian, was often out on his ‘rounds’ and was unable to stay ‘on top of it’. Maryellen stepped to the door and started to go in but stopped abruptly and then backed out. Making a motion to hold her nose said that it needed immediate attention. She then asked where the restrooms on the second floor were located. I told her to take the elevator and upon exiting they would be the second door on the right. When she excused herself from our little group Morris continued by telling me that Maryellen was a good architect but not too good about meeting targets. Knowing some of the Trustees as I did made that not very good news.

I’d been so fixated on making progress with the branch application and what Maryellen would be showing I’d not spent any time looking closely at Maryellen herself. Nothing special to make her stand out in a crowd, she was definitely with the “in crowd” as far as fashion was concerned. When she was sitting in the Board room waiting to make her presentation I was watching the hem of her very short skirt as she got up. It was oh so close! When she was handing materials out I caught her leaning over the table to push some to the other side of the table and, again, it was… oh so close. Sometimes that’s as good as it gets. So, when I saw her start to walk down the stairs I almost couldn’t believe it. As I’ve written before, being in Hobie’s area sometimes paid big benefits… and this was one of them. Stair protocol calls for climbing up to be on the right side and coming down on the opposite side. She had just finished the turn and was now on the straight part of the stairs Morris was right there and as much as I wanted to look up… I didn’t… that is until Morris elbowed me and nodded his head upward. Naturally, I followed his lead and I got a fairly quick view of a pair of red panties. I couldn’t tell if they were bikinis or full briefs but it didn’t really matter.

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175e)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175e)

Because we didn’t race Saturday night the only thing we had to do with the race car was to unload it and put all the tools away. It didn’t take long before I was on my way back home. I had the outboard from the sailboat in the trunk of my car. With it still being daylight I decided to head for the marina to put it back on the boat. I could smell gasoline and that wasn’t a good thing. It was still light out and knew it wouldn’t take long to reattach it.  There was a vent on the gas cap and when the mechanics were working on the motor they had not closed it. Fortunately, the spilled gas ended up on a couple of old floor mats that I’d spread out in the trunk. Not wanting to have the smell of gas for an extended period of time so chose to throw them away. That left me with gas on my hands and even though the office was closed decided to try the door to the men’s rest room. I didn’t expect it to be open but since it was right there I did and was right. I had to walk past the ladies room to get back to my car so gave the door handle a twist. It was open. 

Dave, the marina owner had added on to the original office with modern rest rooms. I’d not been inside to see them so was surprised to find what would be best described as a mini locker room. There were two toilets, two sinks, a shower and cubicles for clothing or personal items. All I wanted was to wash my hands. There were no paper towels in the dispenser but I saw what looked like it might be a wash cloth or towel all balled up stuffed behind the faucet on the adjacent sink. I grabbed and started to unroll it. It wasn’t a washcloth at all but a cotton tank top along with a pair of fancy very pale pink nylon bikini panties. It didn’t take long to figure out they belonged to one of the girls I’d seen earlier. Both items were damp and I took a sniff of the panties. I could smell soap so they had to have just been washed out. I used the tank top to get the majority of the water off my hands but it left me with what to do with it and the panties. Before I went back outside I took a look down the slope to the dock where the big sailboat was docked and didn’t see any activity. That emboldened me to ball both items up and to hide them as best I could while walking to my car.

All I could do was hope that I’d been right when I didn’t see any movement on the sailboat. I tried to be as casual as I could as I got into the car. I didn’t take my second look at the panties until I got out to the stop sign at the road. Of course my first thought was who made them and next was the size. The panties weren’t stained at all and looked to be almost new. The label was foreign and there was no size. My guess was they were either a 4 or 5 and were definitely nylon satin. If there was one thing missing it was in knowing which of the two girls they belonged to. I was blocking the entrance to the driveway into the marina so stuffed the panties under the seat and headed for home.

    

Definitely fancy!

All I could do was hope that I’d been right when I didn’t see any movement on the sailboat. I tried to be as casual as I could as I got into the car. I didn’t take my second look at the panties until I got out to the stop sign at the road. Of course my first thought was who made them and next was the size. The panties weren’t stained at all and looked to be almost new. The label was foreign and there was no size. My guess was they were either a 4 or 5 and were definitely nylon satin. If there was one thing missing it was in knowing which of the two girls they belonged to. I was blocking the entrance to the driveway into the marina so stuffed the panties under the seat and headed for home.

It took less than ten minutes to get there. As I approached I could see activity in the front yard. That usually meant Yard Darts. When we'd be playing out there it was hard to see when a car pulled into the driveway. I parked and walked around the West end of the house which was where the screened in porch was located. I could see through the screens and the first thing I saw was Martha bending over at the waist to pick up the darts that someone had thrown at the target. My attention was focused on her ‘derriere’ as I could see something white peeking out from her shorts. In a situation like that it always helps when the person you’re staring at is wearing dark blue shorts. I stopped to watch what she did next and saw her young daughter take the darts. Then she proceeded to squat down to observe her. That was when I got my second ‘gift’, a small DP (down pants). I thought about continuing on around to the front yard but decided to go in the house and come out the front door. I felt that doing it that way wouldn’t give a hint that I’d been ‘lurking’. Elle, of course, was surprised to see me while it was still daylight. She was with Kaye, our youngest, and it became obvious that the two young girls were competing against each other. I sat down on the front porch steps to observe. I didn’t expect to get any more peeks from Martha but she surprised me when she walked halfway between the two target rings to pick up an errant dart. Right smack in front of me she, again, bent at the waist to retrieve  the dart and I got a second look. I knew Elle saw me watching her but I couldn’t help myself. Ever since Elle had given her the SansSoucie panties I’d been looking for some evidence of her wearing them. This was the proof I’d been looking for. One of the things that made them different was the leg openings were faux band legs but with elastics and I could clearly see them. Oh how I loved short shorts!

Later that evening Elle and I started picking out our clothes for our upcoming trip to Bermuda. It wasn’t to be as long as our first one… four nights and five days… arriving on a Monday and leaving on Friday so we decided to cut back from what we’d taken the last time. Elle brought out the fact that we (she’d) found some really nice clothes while we were there. Hearing her mention it gave me an idea. Without the kids around meant Elle would be a little more liberal with our ‘pee play’ and allowing me more pictures. Even without the kids it sometimes took a little ‘bribe’ to get what I wanted and that bribe was usually in the form of clothes. So, with that thought in mind I went forward with pushing for her to bring less clothes. I’d gotten a copy of the brochure published by the place we’d be staying and it provided suggestions as to what to bring. It was very handy.

Elle’s period was still a bit irregular as a result of the miscarriage but, to the best of her ability to project it, she was convinced it wouldn’t affect our time in Bermuda. I sure hoped she was right. One part of that discussion was about panties and Elle’s incontinence. It was my plan to pack my carry bag from back when I was still playing basketball with enough supplies for four nights. She said she’d allow me to pick out her day panties and that was a good sign. I loved my kids but they sure cut down on the sexual side of our marriage. It was my plan to spend as much time together (and alone) as possible and panties were an important part of that. By the time we climbed into bed we’d decided to get some practice in that area.

To be continued…

AND THE HEAT GOES ON... & on (Part 175d)

AND THE HEAT GOES ON… & on (Part 175d)

I was at the marina a little after 8am Monday morning. I was hoping to see the owner but he wasn’t there. There were two mechanics in the repair shop so I left the outboard motor with them. Since they were busy I asked when they thought they could take a look at it and was told to stop back around closing time… 6pm and that worked for me. As I walked out of the shop I took a look at the big sailboat at the dock on the creek, again hoping to get a look at the two girls I’d only partially seen the day before. But everything at the boat seemed to be quiet. To get the look at the boat I had to walk to the end of the building. As I did I saw two girls. When they saw me they sort of shrieked and then started giggling. They had been headed for the building but stopped when they saw me. One of them sort of bent at the waist and the other started laughing. The girl who was laughing turned and started running back towards the dock and the boat leaving the other girl still bent over. I’d been treated to a fairly up close view of each of them which pleased me. My notes say they were in their mid teens and cute as well. My memory tells me one had a pony tail and the other shoulder length brown hair. The girl who’d been left behind slowly started towards the dock while the other was laughing and making fun of her from the boat. As I turned and headed for my car my thoughts were that they were just teenagers being teenagers. At least I’d gotten a look at the two of them.

As I’ve written in the past, August was the slowest month of the year as far as lobby traffic at the bank went. This particular week was one of Bret’s vacation weeks leaving Trish and I to handle the ‘platform' dealing one on one with customers desiring to open accounts. But that was the projection… not the reality. I’d hardly had a chance to get settled at my desk when Joanie let me know Morris, the branch banking consultant that the Trustees had hired, was on the phone. As I’ve also previously written, I’d been added to the Trustee’s branch committee but only as an observer and had not been included in a few of their committee meetings. I had a good relationship with Morris from having purchased the gifts we offered for opening new accounts when the first branch was opened. When I'd complained to him about the lack of information that was being shared with me about the pending branch application he offered to keep me posted with any progress or problems. The last I’d heard indicated that the banking department approval was imminent so I was excited to hear what he had to say. It wasn’t what I’d expected. He was calling to let me know he’d be at the bank on Wednesday for a branch committee meeting and asked if I’d be there. When I told him this was the first I’d heard about it he told me he’d make sure I was there. I had to wonder how that was going to happen. The cynical side of me made me ask how long he’d known about it. When he said that it had been scheduled over a week ago it made me mad. I thanked him and then hung the receiver up. As soon as I did I wanted to kick myself for not asking what the meeting was to be about.

That bit of information left me a little unsettled and when I got a call from Bret it troubled me. We’d both agreed that when on vacation it had to be an emergency for either of us to make contact. My first thought was that something had happened to him or a member of his family. They were OK but he wanted to let me know about Ruthe’s husband. Ruthe was the woman who worked with Lynda at the stock brokerage. Her husband had beaten her up a few times and I’d, inadvertently, gotten involved on the backside of the last incident and, following it, had tried to provide some moral support for her. The husband, because his father was rich and politically ‘connected’, had managed to avoid jail time. One part of the court agreement was that he would move to Florida and the second was that he would not return to the county unless summoned by the court system. Bret (and Trish) had gone to high school with him and knew first hand that he was nothing but trouble. Bret had heard from his sister that the guy was back in town. Even though there was nothing I could do he wanted me to know. If nothing else that news took my mind off the pending branch committee meeting.

I was on my way to the marina a little after 5pm. Trish and I’d locked the vault and had everyone on their way home. Any work left on my desk would still be there in the morning so my focus was on just how much it would cost me for the repair of the outboard motor. The doors to the workshop were open but there was no signs of ‘life’. I walked around to the front of the building to find both the mechanics seated on the very small patch of grass in the front of it… along with the two girls. This time they didn’t panic or react when they saw me but one of them poked at the other and whispered something to her. My impression was that she was somewhat embarrassed because she turned her head to look out at the boats tied to the docks. One of the mechanics recognized me and jumped up saying my motor was OK. He motioned for me to follow him.  Once around the corner of the building he commented on the two girls saying something like they were “really sexy”. I didn’t respond to his comment which got him to focus on me and why I was there. The motor was on a stand just inside the open door and he led me to it and pointed to a small lever, barely noticeable, under the cover at the back of it. I’d never seen it, not that I’d really looked, but it was a fuel shut off. After talking with him a bit we determined that when I’d reached back to raise the motor out of the water I’d hit it, turning off the fuel flow. Talk about feeling foolish!. He was really nice and wouldn’t take any money. After loading the motor in the trunk of my car I asked him what he knew about the two girls.

He might’ve been 20 years old and my question embarrassed him as he shrugged his shoulders as his face reddened. I definitely remember smiling. Then he said that he really didn’t know much about them but he volunteered that they kept coming around the building to peer in the shop all day. Then he got serious and asked if I’d noticed the brown haired girl was braless. I hadn’t and before I could respond he added he thought the two of them had been deliberately teasing them all day. I also remember asking what he meant by “teasing”. He looked over his shoulder as if to see if anyone was nearby before saying that he’d also seen them hanging around the cockpit of the sailboat in just their underwear. At that point he seemed to hesitate as if he’d said too much. I told him I thought he and his co-worker were pretty lucky and that got him back to smiling. I thanked him again for looking at the motor and got in the car. I’ll admit I was tempted to go back to take another look at the girls… but didn’t.

To be continued…