This story was taken out of the July 1982 issue of "With a Little Help from my friends."
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Photo by Kris Spackman |
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photo by Kris Spackman |
Long Beach Grand Prix ‘82
By Kris Spackman
Ahhh, Long Beach! The
mere thought conjures up wonderful pictures of those gorgeous drivers from
exotic places around the world; the thunderous roar of Formula 1 racers
screaming through the streets; the colors, the crowds, the excitement…and
sometimes, George, putting in a hasty appearance! The thought is always in the back of our
minds as we make our annual trek to the race; whether he shows or not, we
always have a good time. And this year
was no exception. We truly were not expecting
to see him, since he’d failed to appear in 1980 and 1981.
As always Jennie Swenton and I were ensconced in our usual
spot by the Liguer team, watching dearling Jacques Laffite preparing for the
qualifying session. Karen Dyson had wandered off on her own, as had Patti
Murawaki, who suddenly reappeared, urgently muttering, “He’s here!”
We quickly followed her back to where she’d seen him. And what to our wondering eyes should
appear? He looked wonderful, with his hair cut very
short, no mustache, and sporting a dark tan and sunglasses. Dressed in jeans, t-shirt, running shoes, and
a dark jacket, he seemed to be trying very hard to blend in with the crowd.
Absorbed in watching the last few minutes of qualifying, he
stood close to the track wall until it was over, and then quickly to the garage
with one of the crew member he knew.
After just a few minutes, he was gone.
Another famous Harrison disappearing act!
On Saturday, we didn’t see him til later in the day, almost
missing him because we were feeding our faces!
We giggled over the fact that he was wearing exactly the same thing as
the day before, wondering if he’d left Olivia in Hawaii or Australia and was
therefore looking after himself! He
stood chatting with friends, so we just watched, not wanting to interrupt or
bother him. After a short time, he was
off with a journalist friend, and we later caught him in the garage, but only
long enough to witness another Harrison-Houdini act!
On Sunday, we truly didn’t expect to see him at all,
figuring as in years past he’d be watching the race from his favorite
spot. We were all delighted that Niki
Lauda was in the front row; he’d returned to racing after a two year “retirement”
and was doing incredibly well already!
As always, the air was electric with excitement as teams
rushed frantically about, readying their cars for that all important moment
when the green light would come on. We
always enjoy race day but at the same time, hate to see it come because it’ll
then all soon be over for another whole year!
Then suddenly there was George again! And again wearing the same clothes! This time, though he had a friend along, and
we recognized Denis O’Brien, who was looking about rather in awe. George carefully pointed out and explained
things to him, then laughingly posed as Denis took a picture of him!
After a while, they were joined by a man George obviously
knew from one of the teams. They greeted
each other warmly, then George took a button out of his pocket and tried to pin
it on the man’s jacket.
Then suddenly there was Karen who’d been off wandering on
her own and she was only several feet away from him an edging closer! She spotted us, giving us a look which “Help!”
Little by little, she moved closer
waiting for an opportune moment.
As we silently cheered her on, she finally went up and said
hello. A bit hesitantly, he returned the
greeting. Karen determinedly hung in
there and told him she just had wanted to say I and tell him he was looking
wonderful, that someone must be taking good care of him. She asked about the family and he said they
were fine. Bringing up Dhani really got
him going! A huge smile lit up his face,
and he told her how big he was getting, how much he enjoyed him, how smart he
was, and all the time they spent together in the garden. They then went on to discuss the race and he reassured
her that Niki Lauda would probably win (Turned out he was right!) Karen then said goodbye and off he went with Denis
into the crowd.
That was the last we saw of him, but what a sight
indeed! It was great to catch a look at him,
without anyone recognizing or bothering him.
He seemed quite relieved that he was able to enjoy the weekend in
relative peace.
Thanks George! We
enjoyed it too.
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