Okay, so sometimes, sometimes there's a day or night so big that you need to write about it. That you need to write down every single detail because for some reason you're pretty sure that it MUST have changed something, because there is no way something that BIG happened and nothing ended up changing. That just doesn't make sense. So writing, you have to write and record and put your mark on it or...something.
The Saturday and Sunday of Le Mans were that kind of big.
The freaking 24 Hours at Le Mans has to be THAT big.
I wish I knew how to start this. Generally I'm excellent with words, I know this but this was...it was what it was. That's all I can think to say, it was what it was. And I don't feel the need to discuss details of the actual race. You can find those in articles or you saw the race and you know, that's not important.
What was important was what really happened.
(side note in case you don't know me...I was cheering for Team Seattle, god I was cheering for Team Seattle)
And what happened was the team that started in dead last (or "last pole" as some put it), the team that people thought shouldn't even be there, finished the race. Not only did they finish the race (which would have been a huge victory in itself) but they ran a perfect race. They didn't spin off, they didn't crash, the car didn't have any major issues, they ran a clean race. And because of it...they didn't only finish, they finished in the top 10 in their class. They started in 17th and ended in 9th. They finished 30th out of 55 in the entire race.
If all of that wasn't amazing enough, they also raised 258,000 dollars for the children's hospitals in Seattle and France while doing so.
And all of that was completely amazing.
But I'm pretty sure what I loved most of all was everything that it really really meant. What was the really important part of the 9th place finish...
Because we live in a world of can't. When you're little they tell you you can do anything and be anything but the second you get older it becomes "No, that's too big" and "That's impossible" and so many people were saying that about this team, especially Patrick Dempsey. That he didn't have any wins under his belt, that he was just a celebrity who was only in the race because of that. And I got it, I did. But at the same time, they had every right to be there. They had every right to ignore all of the "I can't"s and just...do. Because they finished their practice laps, they met the required speed to run the race. They had earned their spot just as much as every other team there. Maybe they were inexperienced and maybe they were in over their heads, but as far as I'm concerned, that's how life should be lived...you should be in a little over your head because where's the fun in living in a comfort zone? So these three guys, none of them with any Le Mans experience of any kind before, one who hasn't even been racing all that long, went and did it. They did it regardless of all the can'ts and don't and I think something needs to be said for that.
I also think something needs to be said to all those people who were saying can't and don't...something about how they're idiots and they need to learn to keep their mouths shut and...let people chase what they want and let people try to live their dreams. Basically I think the people with all the can'ts and don'ts should just be told to go fuck off.
And about those dreams...Joe started dreaming of racing Le Mans when he was a kid. He's in his 40s now...it had been a dream he held on to for that long. Patrick...okay, well I'm not 100% sure when exactly it became a dream for him because the man seems to have had a lot of golas in his life but it was a dream. And Don had a dream of using auto racing to make a difference, to raise money for a cause that was important to him and god, he did that. And that weekend, all of them got to live out that dream. The worked their asses off, they trained hard, stretched themselves thin to afford it, and they lived out a dream. They all...lived out a dream. The whole thing screamed the message of not giving up on dreams, it screamed that maybe that thing you wanted to do when you were young is still possible. It was amazing to witness.
So in short...were they partially invited because of who Patrick Dempsey is? Maybe. God knows he brings lots and lots of attention. But why he was asked shouldn't take away from what they did. They ran one of the hardest road races in the world and finished it. They did amazingly well for a team of three rookies. They raised a crap load of money in the process. And they lived out their dreams and shut up all the naysayers in the process. That has to be SOMETHING. That has to mean SOMETHING.
Nothing should take away from how inspirational it was, how amazing and inspirational watching them do this was. Patrick's star power shouldn't take away from the amazing feat they accomplished or how much power it has to inspire.
Because it was inspirational.
It made me want to sit down and write. Because if they can race Le Mans, I can get a novel published.
The entire 24 hours is something I never want to forget.
And a quick note about MY experience. Well...in the midst of this amazing, inspirational, exciting, nerve wracking, adrenaline pumping race, I managed to make new friends. I have no idea exactly how it happened or what time it happened at (because god, time gets fuzzy around 4 am) but it did. I started tweeting about the race when it started...and found other girls that were tweeting too. And we bonded, we shared and bonded. In the wee hours of the morning, when sleep would have come so easily (okay, that may be a lie as I think I was far too pumped by it all to even think about laying down) we kept each other up. We cheered together and something about it was so...bonding and memorable and we all share those memories and will forever. I love my Dempsey Dolls.
(And I know this took forever to get up and now this race is almost old news but the week after the race work kicked my ass...7 days in a row AFTER an all nighter is kinda deadly...and then I got caught up with writing other things but it's here now and I'm almost happy I waited because I got to see the way Patrick and Joe drove at Mid-Ohio...with a new found confidence and speed and passion that made the whole entire thing that much more).
Okay, I'm done rambling now. And I'm sure this isn't my best writing yet because it was written in so many intervals but there it is. Finally. My Le Mans blog.
(And I swear, I'll blog more often...seriously)
