"getchapopcorn" (getchapopcorn)
12/10/2013 at 15:29 • Filed to: LNO Theater, Graham Hill, F1
0
0|
"getchapopcorn" (getchapopcorn)
12/10/2013 at 15:29 • Filed to: LNO Theater, Graham Hill, F1 | 0
| 0 |
(next-day repost for the oddlings in other time zones) Tonight is a special night for us here at the LNO Theater, it is a night reserved for possibly my favorite figure in the history of motor sport. Graham Hill had plenty of talent, true enough, but he didn't get to where he was by resting on it. He wasn't !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (possibly the best ever), though he did vacation with him and drive for the same team. He wasn't !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though, again, he did vacation with him and drive for the same team. He wasn't ever going to be the best at his sport just by showing up and Graham knew it. What made Graham special was the fact that he was the hardest working son of a bitch on the grid by a long shot and, as of his time, he was probably the pilot who was the most devoted to his craft (also, let's not forget his bitchin' mustache and this Opponaut's pick for best helmet ever).
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Graham got on in his early years by exchanging his services in mending folks' cars for a chance to race it, and it worked out well enough for him during that time. One day, a person by the name of Colin Chapman (tune in soon), gave him a ride home from the track and the rest is sort of history. Graham went on to become WDC twice over, earn the nick name "Mr. Monaco" by winning in the famed principality five times, and the last person to capture motor sport's Triple Crown. In the end, I think the main reason that Graham is my favorite is that no matter all his success, Graham never lost touch with whom he was, an enthusiast who loved working on and driving cars and just a regular guy who loved a good laugh and those persons who regularly surrounded him.
There are plenty of other drivers from this era who were just as charismatic and good persons that are no longer here, but they don't have the same effect on me when I think of them. Perhaps it's because they died on the track and you can rationalize that to a large degree, or perhaps it's just something ineffable. Either way, prepare to laugh, smile, scoff, roll your eyes, and possibly even shed a few over the next 50 odd minutes. In the end, all I can say is we should all aspire to leave a mark on those we know the same that Graham did for those in his life. He truly "was a regular bloke with an irregular and extraordinary ability." A family man, a funny man, a friendly man, a good man, a hard man, and a racing man — Graham Hill.
So getcha popcorn and turn your phones on vibrate. Turn down the lights and turn up the volume! Welcome to the LNO Theater. Enjoy:
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Thanks to MSP and the Beeb for tonight's episode of the LNO Theater.