2 Attachment(s)
PRO Nationals Hinton, W. Virginia 1977
We got back from Dayton and got everything fixed and ready to go for the Nationals. We were looking forward to that. The Stocks had run their Nationals there I think the previous year, and we had heard lots of good things about Hinton. Also, it would be the furthest north and east that we had ever raced.
Our friend that we stay with when we go to Berlin came to Texas with her friend. Jenny Schwartz-Nitka was a Russian from the Ukraine who migrated to Berlin in 1945 looking for her brother--the only one left in her family. She stayed and became a very successful business woman. Her friend Harry Splettstosser was the president of the Berlin Chapter of ADAC. It is kind of like APBA, SCCA and AMA rolled into one organization. I met both of them the previous year when Harry had the American Team (David Westbrook and myself) staying in Jenny's 4 story house in Berlin.
They came to Texas shortly before Hinton and we did the South Texas tour, including a day in Nuevo Laredo and a fishing trip on Debbie's Dad's boat. Then they rode with us to Hinton.
Disco was in full swing and the radio was full of Andy Gibb, Barry Manilow and for the 437th time in one day---Peter Frampton.........AAAAAAAAAARRG! At least every now and then we would catch a Fleetwood Mac song, and Jimmy Buffet had his shrimp boiling and Margaritas in the blender. On the country side, Waylon Jennings was half way through a six week run of "Lukenback, Texas" at number one. That would be the last time a C&W hit stayed No. 1 that long for 20 years. And some European band had a hit that Jenny and Harry liked because of a drink concocted from the Bahamas where they were before coming to Texas---It was Yellowbird.
We were only a few hours west of Hinton in the afternoon when the DJ said Elvis had died. Quite a shock.
We stopped for gas in West Virginia and I saw Harry walk straight into the women's restroom. He was alread entering, so it was too late for me to stop him. The men's was on the far side with a sign that said HIS'N. The women's closest to the pumps said HER'N. In Germany women's restroom are DAMMEN and men's HERREN. I don't know why Harry thought of all the restrooms in the U.S. we would find one in the hills of West Virginia that was properly labeled, but he was clearly confused when he came out. :confused: His eyes were bugged out and was slack jawed with wonderment splashed across his face. He looked around in embarassment and I was just looking sideways at him. I never said anything and let him think nobody saw, but he headed straight back to the car and got in. There was no way he was going to see what was behind that HIS'N door. He would just wait.