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Childhood Dreams Do Come True!

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By Nelda Ray
(writer-ray@live.com)
Jesse Perez, Jr., who was all of five years old when this reporter conducted an extensive interview with him has just celebrated a birthday (Sept. 19).  Happy Belated Birthday, Jesse!!  Jesse’s ride, a beautiful cherry-pie-red caught my eye because of it diminutive size.  We were at the Cruisin’ for Jesus car show and there among the big boys and their big toys was this adorable pint-sized man with his lovely vehicle parked right alongside an awesome 1959 Chevrolet Impala.  I couldn’t stand it.  I had to get to the bottom of that story, so I got down on the ground and began my queries (men, whatever their size, like to be looked up to).
Come to find out Jesse Perez, Jr. was one (smaller) half of a team, father and son.  Jesse Perez, Sr. was the proud owner of the Impala which had been originally purchased new by his paternal grandmother.  Don’t so many wonderful things originate with us gals!  This obviously very classy lady, great-grandmother to Jesse Perez, Jr. passed the car down to her son who then passed it on to Jesse Perez, Sr., who adamantly intends to continue the tradition by giving the Impala to Jesse Perez, Jr. when he comes of an age (to, like, actually be able to see over the steering wheel much less learn to drive).  Although Jr. of this team is small he is big on ideas.  Someday, when Jr. can get his hands on the steering wheel and simultaneously punch the throttle, the Impala will sport “flames.”  Jesse Perez, Jr. has already gotten bitten by the speed bug.
Jesse had a few things to share about himself.  One of the things he really likes is going out to the backyard and having his two dogs, Pracer and Pebbles, play with him.  He loves olive pizzas and thinks his first grade teacher, Mrs. Heredia, is very nice.  He very much wants to emulate his dad by becoming a police officer.  Jesse Perez, Sr. shared his views about the car hobby stating car shows are for everyone regardless of profession or religion.  The Cruisin’ for Jesus event was certainly an excellent demonstration of the eclectic judging by the autos represented.
We’re going to want to watch Jesse Perez, Jr.’s progress as he gains in years and stature.  I’ve got a really good feeling the Impala is going to be in great hands for many years to come.
[Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Perez, Sr. for their kindness and willingness to share their son with us and a very special thank you to Jesse Perez, Jr. for his desire to be interviewed and his love of the old car hobby.]

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The Wasp - Reflections of Days Gone By
By Writer Ray
The train made a clamorous halt and jolted me from my reverie.  “All aboard!”  I sleepwalked to my seat still caught up in the memories flooding my mind.  Gazing out the window my eyes transfixed on the image of the 1967 Mustang “Eleanor – Gone in 60 Seconds,” one of eleven built for the movie and this Eleanor being one of the three survivors.  Eleanor, God how I loved her.  I recall when I discovered the meaning of her name.  Light.  Light gone in 60 seconds.  Light speed.  She captured my heart that fateful day in 1911 and, sure enough, she was gone like lightening speed.
But let me begin at the beginning.  I don’t want to be an old man rambling.  It’s a story I have to tell and tell it I will.  Forgive me if my voice falters a bit.  The pain washes over me afresh even after all these years.
It was May 30, 1911.  You may remember the date but I doubt it.  Nobody is as old as I am.  It was apropos that the Indy 500 should be held on Memorial Day.  That would be a day nobody would forget, especially me.  I could relate to the reasoning behind it all.  Spectators were run ragged by all the racing events, too numerous for an honest working man to keep up with, so it was decided to have one major event to keep the attention of the public.  At first they thought it out on a grand scale; how bout a 24 hour race or a 1,000 mile endurance race?  Then again, what about the man who sits in the bleachers vicariously experiencing the exhilaration of the speed, the wind, the romance with collision?  When darkness struck those on the sidelines would pack it up and head home.  The only way to keep them was to limit the race to 300 or 500 hundred miles.  The Indy 300?  Somehow that didn’t have much of a ring.
You know what happened that day.  A life was lost in a fiery crash, and possibly the first organized race behind the Pearly Gates was launched with the entrance that brave adventurous soul.  Controversy to this very day exists over the true winner.  Ralph Mulford and Ray Harroun each allege their prowess behind the wheel that day.  Yet it was the driver of the Marmon Wasp, Ray Harroun, who walked away with the $10,000 first place prize.   You see, the Wasp was unique.  At that time all race cars were built for two: the driver and his mechanic.  Not the Wasp.  Un-huh.  The Wasp was a lightweight compared to the other cars transporting two men because it housed only the driver; the Wasp flew.  Additionally, that lithe animal had something no race car and no car period ever sported.  The Wasp had a looking glass.  How can you say Eat My Dust if you can’t see it flying?  It was the first ever rear view mirror.  Mirror, mirror on my car, who’s the fastest of them all?  It was the Marmon Wasp averaging speeds of 74.602 mph.
If it hadn’t been for the completion of “haying,” a late-spring agricultural practice, the Indy 500 might have a completely different story to tell.  The two-week hiatus of the farming community in that area was the catalyst to choosing the date of the first Indy 500. The sponsors desired not only the attendance of the farming community but knew they would draw others as well while not interfering with the socio-economics of the area.
If it hadn’t been for haying, I would not be a broken man to this very day.  Eleanor was a beautiful farmer’s daughter.  During an intermission in my race car viewing I stepped aside for the refreshment of the proverbial lemonade stand.  One flash of her Sophia Loren smile and toss of that auburn hair my heart vanished from my chest to be forever stolen by the dream girl of Lewis Strang, the driver if the automobile built by J. I. Case Thresh­ing Machine Company of Racine, Wisconsin, the first to return his completed entry blank for that very first Indy 500.  I couldn’t hold a candle to an agile race car driver standing there in my pressed white shirt and bow tie, the gangliest guy around, the first reporter assigned to cover the Indy 500.
All I could hope to do was live long enough to tell about it to all of you who love the Old Cars and Motor Sports.
The facts (other than the narrator the “dream girl”) in this story are true.  Ray Harroun retired after his historical win. Ap­pre­ciation goes to “Hem­mings” February 2009 issue and various internet articles for inspiration and factual accounts.  Google Marmon’s Wasp for some great pictorials.