Quarantine Chronicles Volume 8: Happy Easter, Divided Worlds, Chasing TC And Binge Watching


Some semi-regular musings on racing and life in a COVID-19 Pandemic Quarantine World 


Happy Easter to all. Yes, Happy Easter with the emphasis on Happy. 

We all know that holidays are a time for gathering, which is unfortunately something we’re just not supposed to be doing right now. 

But let’s make the best of it and try to stay happy, positive and appreciative. 

While a lot of us are missing good old regular human contact with the people regularly in our lives, let’s take stock in the fact that this crazy global pandemic world we live in also allows us the technological wonder that is virtual togetherness. 

For the time being let’s all try to use it for the best that we can and celebrate virtually in that way. 

I know this, I’m sure my neighbors are most appreciative of the almost daily performances I’ve been offering them strolling around the local roads and singing out loud to what’s blasting in the ear -buds. 

Ok maybe they’re not enjoying that. Oh well. 

Divide 

There is so much time to think and wonder and compare and contrast everything we see and hear. Probably too much time. 

We all know that we live in a country that is immensely divided in so many ways. Maybe more division in this country – even before the global pandemic – than any other time in its history beyond the Civil War. 

What’s difficult is seeing that division so clearly painted and illustrated and magnified as we go through a national crisis like few alive have ever lived through. 

It hit me hard yesterday when I saw the aerial shots of mass burials taking place on Hart Island in New York City. 

Who ever thought in our lifetimes we would face such a crisis in this country that deemed mass burials? 

And then in the same social media timelines where we see mass burials we still are reading of people blaming a documented global pandemic on a political party and calling the pandemic an election year hoax and a “media scare”. How can that even be?


Binge Watching 

Who would think a documentary about a hedge fund operator and a Multi-level marketing weight loss company could be so damn compelling. But that’s exactly what the documentary Betting On Zero is on Netflix. 

The documentary follows hedge fund giant Bill Ackman and his war to prove to that Herbalife is an illegal pyramid scheme. 

The documentary takes a deep and dark look at the practices of Herbalife and truly might have questioning the ethics and practices of that non-descript “Shake Shop” you see in your neighborhood. 

Don’t sleep on Betting On Zero, it will grab you. 

Betting On Zero earns four out of five snacks on our Quaratine Snacks Rankings.

Betting On Zero

So we’re digging deep here, going back a couple decades with this one, but it’s worth it. Go look for Beyond The Mat on Netflix. 

It’s a documentary that at times may seem a little amateurish and a lot hokey, but damn it grows ever intense and emotional as it goes on. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of professional wrestling or not, the stories are gripping nonetheless. 

The documentary takes a deep dive into the lives of professional wrestlers Mick Foley, Terry Funk and Jack “The Snake” Roberts. 

Beyond The Mat earns three out of five snacks on our Quaratine Snacks Rankings.

Beyond The Mat

Digging Through The Archives 

Ted Christopher (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

The other day I brought you a little something about Jack Arute Sr. that I dug up through my archives. 

Let’s keep the them going with some more digging. 

In June of 2005, as a reporter for the Hartford Courant, I pitched to my editors the idea of following Ted Christopher around for a few days and making a feature story about the adventure. 

It seemed the perfect weekend to pull it off was arranged by a special NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour makeup event scheduled for Sunday July 3 at Stafford Motor Speedway. It meant Christopher would be racing four consecutive days at Connecticut’s short tracks. And off I went to shadow Ted Christopher, from Thompson Speedway on Thursday June 30, 2005, to Stafford the next night, to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl the next night and then closing out the weekend with a return visit to Stafford on Sunday. 

It was one of the most enjoyable stories to chase over my 25 years of covering motorsports and offered an amazing glimpse behind the curtain at one of short track racings most successful and polarizing figures.  

One of the quotes that made the story was Christopher lamenting drivers and crew members complaining about his tactics on the track. 

He said: “I should get a Kleenex sponsorship. Then we can have a big box of Kleenex out on the trailer every week so all the drivers crying about me after every race can come get some. I want to know what they’re going to cry about when I’m gone.”

Click here to read the rest of On Ted’s Tail: A 4-day, 5-race, 3-track Run With Ted Christopher.

Stay safe everyone. Keep positive. Help your neighbors if you can. And wash your damn hands.




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Comments

  1. HAPPY EASTER to everyone. Just had a nice surprise, a parade. The local fire departments rode by, with the Easter Bunny. It was cool. A bright spot in these dark times.

  2. Happy Easter to you and stay safe

  3. Grateful for the internet and the world it opens up to us. Got that right. The other day I’m looking at my router with a new found reverence and a little shame realizing how important it is in my life now.
    The opposite is true of my hands. We’re starting to have squabbles and it’s troubling. They’re telling me in their own way they don’t understand why I try to drown them so many times a day. For bathroom breaks sure no objection there. But 7 times in between. Washing cleaning, disinfecting enough already. There’s only so much a pair of hands can take before they turn on you. No they don’t say it it so many words but the message is clear.. Get some vinyl gloves and moisturizer or we’re not going to make it to a vaccine. They see the time I put in on the face mask and maybe they’re starting to get jealous. Meanwhile I’m looking at my hands with greater suspicion. Exactly what have you touched today and what nasty thing could you be bringing home. Unthinking I wipe my eyes as old people frequently do then the nagging question pops up. Exactly when did I last wash my hands and what did I touch in the interim. The hands they just sit there looking all innocent, not saying boo.
    My hands and I need to come to some kind of understanding or it’s going to be a really long pandemic.

  4. Thank you Shawn for the link to On a Ted”s Tail. It was great reading that again after all these years. I really enjoyed that look back in time.

  5. Thanks Shawn, I really enjoyed this post.

  6. First off; HAPPY EASTER to everyone. I hope you all had a somewhat, given the circumstances, good day. In Palmer, We were treated to a makeshift parade of police, fire, and EMS vehicles, complete with the Easter Bunny. Thank you to all who participated.
    Watching 60 minutes now. They just interviewed Peter Navarro, a member of Trump’s staff. After hearing the interview, I was really surprised they aired it. Lies, lies and more lies. But, I’m not going to let it get to me. I’ve been doing my part, staying home, washing everything ECT … I hope all you are too.
    I hope everyone is safe, strong and sane, and that your all using common sense. Together, United, we will beat this disease, and someday in the future life may return to normal. How long this takes depends on everyone doing the right thing
    I want to thank all of those who can’t stay home, and put their lives at risk for us. You know who you are… THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!!

  7. You want to help the first responders, Drs., nurses and medical staff? You wanna saves lives?

    Stay home.

  8. As of this writing, these are the USA statistics:

    Total Population: 330,000,000

    Total Tests: 2,832,258

    Total Confirmed Cases: 560,055

    Deaths: 22,090

    If those numbers are scaled up to represent half the population of the USA is tested:

    Total tests: 165,000,000

    Projected confirmed cases: 9,612,471

    Projected Deaths: 1,286,906

    This presumes social distancing as we are doing. If the closures are relaxed, these number get way bigger.

    Folks, 2,000 people per day are dying, that we know of. The majority of that from just a few areas. And as this spreads out across the country, the rate will climb.

    Social distancing is keeping this from being much, much worse. Social distancing is slowing the spread, and will reduce the number of deaths until a vaccine is developed.

  9. Woo woo. The virus sucks but this is the week we get our free money. Actually not free but no cost to us for now. Enjoy!

  10. A trove of emails have been released that concludes that numerous and various people and branches of the US Govt knew about the pandemic a very long time ago. This was in the President’s Daily Briefing a very long time ago.

    Search them out go through them. This is how this Administration is not taking care of the citizens. The delay to act of about 10 weeks will cost untold lives.

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