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As
the Kyle Petty Charity
Ride roared into
Charlotte North Carolina
I was thinking how cool
it would be to see the
King, Richard Petty,
riding a hog, you know,
a Harley Davidson. As
they came off the
interstate onto the
police barricaded road I
perched myself above the
route as excitement
grew. The 150 or so
bikes and riders zoomed
underneath me to get to
their resting point for
the
evening, waving to the
fans that lined the
streets and overpasses.
After they
passed I jumped on my
golf cart to get to the
stage they had set up to
try
and get some pictures.
As I approached I saw
the King and, as always,
he
was smiling and signing
autographs for the fans
that swarmed around him.
As the festivities
started and after the
National Anthem, there
was the
usual thanking of
sponsors' and supporters
that us NASCAR fans have
become
almost immune to. This,
however, was a much
different sponsorship
pool. Two
local Chic-Filet stores
(Hickory and Morganton,
NC) raised $1800 to give
to the camp. Then there
was a volunteer that
raised $250 between
family and
friends. All of which
was appreciated by the
Petty's as much as any
other donation.
Then it hit me, this
isn't about needing
millions of dollars to
run a race
team. This is about the
millions of people
around the US that send
in a few
dollars that can make
the difference and it
shows. In talking to
Kyle Petty some
of the things that stick
in his mind are kids
that donate a jar of
change that added up to
$23.22 without a quarter
in it. “Just dimes,
nickels,
and pennies” Petty says.
At the closing of the
ceremony there were some
kids from the camp with
volunteers that
performed. These
children, in their
wheelchairs, with
devastating illnesses,
went out and performed a
dance skit for the crowd
that
was gathered around. It
was so touching that I
don't think there was a
dry
eye in the crowd. As
they sang and wheeled
around all you could see
was the
enormous smiles on their
faces. They are facing hardships that can be
unimaginable
to most of us, yet they
were smiling and happy.
But for the time they
were there, and I'm sure
at camp those problems
were not at the
forefront.. This was
what this charity ride
was for, it was just the
celebrities that donated
their time, that made it
come together. It was
from the children that
took pennies, nickels
and dimes that gave up
something so they could
give. It wasn't about
getting to see the King
ride in on his Harley.
This ride and everything
all the riders took time
and money out of their
schedule was for these
and many more kids that
don't have the quality
of
life so many of us take
for granted.
The only thing bigger
than these children's
smiles on this beautiful
day
in Charlotte were the
hearts of the Petty's,
all the sponsors and
volunteers that make it
all happen. I think we
can all take a lesson
from
the children that raised
their money and help
support such a great
cause
You can
contact Brad at
bkeppel@speedwaymedia.com
The opinions expressed
on this site are not necessarily those of the publisher. All
comments other than website related problems need to be directed to
the author. Copyright 2000-2008 SpeedwayMedia.com.
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