Thoughts of Dan

My name is Tina Mendenhall, Macy's mom, and I'm hijacking Macy's Mutterings today to post thoughts about Dan Wheldon, two-time Indianapolis 500 champion who we lost Sunday, October 16.  

Thoughts of Dan . . . 

I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to Dan Wheldon’s family, friends and those in the racing community.  Although I am not currently involved in the motorsports industry, I grieve along with the countless others in the business, as well as fans, who are feeling this tremendous loss.  From what I know of Dan, he was a man who was passionate about racing in the IndyCar Series, and most notably, the Indianapolis 500.  He was one of those drivers who, if I can paraphrase Al Unser Jr., “knows what Indy means.”  While Dan’s death is a shock to all of us, we can be somewhat comforted in knowing he left us doing something he was deeply passionate about.  How many of us truly love what we do for a living?  Dan truly loved his job and living the dream as a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion. 

In the two days since the tragic accident, I’ve read a lot of personal and media commentaries and attacks about safety of the cars, track safety, whether the cars should run on a high-banked oval, etc. – a lot of finger-pointing taking place.  As most of us know, motor racing is inherently dangerous and there is no way to remove all risk from the sport.  I do believe that the sanctioning body will take a hard look at all aspects of the accident, with input from the drivers, and act accordingly.  As with any sport, there is no way to make it 100 percent safe.  All drivers know the risks before they ever strap on a helmet, however knowing this doesn’t make Dan’s death any easier to take.

I’ve been a life-long race fan and had the pleasure of working in the sport for several years.  I will continue to be a fan going forward and support the sport that I love.

At this very difficult time, please keep the Wheldon family in your thoughts.  I pray for peace and comfort for Susie, Sebastian and Oliver, as well as Dan’s parents, siblings, friends and extended family in the IndyCar paddock. 

Godspeed, Dan – a champion on and off the track – you will be missed!

A Smattering of Mutterings

Hi friends!

It's been pretty quiet along the Macy front lately and I don't have too many exciting things to blog about.  So, I'll just fill you in on a few bits and bites.

First, I want to say that I'm so glad my beautiful friend Cayenne is feeling much better.  She gave everyone quite a scare recently and had to be rushed into emergency surgery due to an infection in her "girl parts."  I've not seen her since then, think about her often and can't wait to see her and tell her how happy I am that she's going to be okay.  (Cayenne is the AmStaff in the picture above, with her cousin Conrad and me.  Isn't she beautiful?)

A few days before Cayenne got sick, we both attended Conrad's third birthday party.  There were a lot of people there and a couple of dogs whom I'd not met before.  One dog kept getting in my face, and I'm not an "in your face" kind of dog.  I kept telling him to leave me alone, but he just didn't get it.  I think his mom thought I was going to get into it with him, so they took him inside.  All the smaller dogs got to go inside, but me, the lone "big dog" was forced to stay outside.  Yeah, mom stayed outside with me, but a lot of the people I wanted to visit were inside and, well, the food was inside too!  Mom took me home a bit early so I could relax, so I didn't get to eat Conrad's birthday cake my mom made for him, but she did bring a piece home for me . . . and it was GOOD!  (See photo of cake.)

Oh, I want to thank Noah's Animal Hospital -- the one at 56th & Emerson -- for the nice gift basket I won a few weeks ago.  I had entered a raffle at Woofstock and mom got a call several days later saying I'd won. They took our picture when we picked up the basket, but we've not received a copy of it, so here's a picture mom took of me with the gift basket filled with lots of nice treats and toys, including a Wubba -- I love my Wubba!  (My sister Halle is lurking in the background of the picture.)

Mom was very busy with work last week, going in early and coming home late -- something about meetings -- and then didn't have much time to play with me.  I don't think I got to go to the park hardly at all.  She came home early Friday, but then had to leave not too long after that, but I don't think it was for work, so we didn't get to do much then either.  So, I was pretty bored and lonely, but I know mom has to work so she can keep me in dog food, treats and toys!  She made up for it over the weekend though -- we went to the bark park on Saturday and then I got to go to see my Grandma for her birthday on Sunday!  Oh, boy, was that fun!  After we got to Grandma's, we all got in my car and went to my Uncle Tim's house -- I'd never been there before, so it was a new experience.  It was fun and exciting -- we watched the Colts game (don't even want to talk about it), ate and gave Grandma some presents.  Then, my uncle did something I still don't understand -- there was this thing standing in the corner and he picked it up and started making some kind of racket -- mom said it was a guitar and it was music, but it made me nervous.  I thought music was something that came out of a radio or TV!  Maybe if I was around that guitar thing more, I'd get used to it.  Uncle Tim and I wrestled around and played tug with my Skinneeez toy.  I think mom is going to try to upload a couple of videos of us playing.  Oh, and just before I left, my uncle went into his music room and got something called a harmonica and started blowing into it, supposedly making "music" again!  I started singing along (okay, I was really howling 'cause it hurt my ears)!  Anyway, I was one pooped pup when I got home last night!

Well, that's about it for me for this time -- I'm ready for a nap.  I hope to be back soon with some more Macy-isms.  Until then, smiles and smooches!

Macy G. Mendenhall