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4th Quarter 2011Week 43

Oct 23 -29

TABLE OF CONTENTSISSUE 2011.43

OCTOBER OCCASIONSpages 1-4

Overcoming the Odds:CHARLES

KRAUTHAMMERpages 5-6

OCTOBER CELEBRITIESpages 7-8

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TIDBITS® LOOKS AT THE CALENDAR’S

OCTOBER OCCASIONSby Kathy Wolfe

October is the time to celebrate Auto Battery Safety Month, Cookbook Month, National Den-tal Hygiene Month and National Liver Aware-ness Month. Let’s see what else is on the calen-dar for this time of year.

•DictionaryDayisOctober16,thebirthdayofNoah Webster. Webster, a 1778 graduate ofYale,beganwritingAmerica’sfirstdictionaryatage43,wrappingupthejobof70,000entriesat age 70. He was responsible for changingsome of the old English spellings, such as “colour” to “color” and “musick” to “music.”

• TheNationalMoleDayFoundationurgesyouto celebrate National Mole Day on October 23. Does that mean it’s time to be kind to those furry little fellows that wreak havoc on your lawn? Not at all! It’s a day to get excited about the mole, a basic measuring unit in chemistry, and to memorizeAvogadro’s number, 6.024x 10 to the 23rd power. That’s the formulathatdefines theamountofatomicmassunitsin a gram. It’s the amount of a substance that equals the quantity containing as many units asthereareatomsin0.012kgofCarbon-12.Itmight actually be easier to be kind to the furry animal!

turn the page for more!

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October 27, 2011 Volume 7 Issue 43

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Oct 23 - 29Page 2

OCTOBER OCCASIONS (continued):•Octoberisabigmonthformonuments.President

Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor on an October day in1886.Thestatue,officiallycalledtheStatueof Liberty Enlightening the World, had been receivedfromFrancethepreviousJunein350separate parts and was assembled over the next fourmonths.InOctober1941,SouthDakota’sMountRushmorewascompletedafter14yearsofworkbysculptorGutzonBorglumand400workers. Unfortunately, Borglum didn’t get toseehis60-foot(18-m)carvingscompleted,as he died just months before the monument was done. Construction was completed on the St. Louis Arch in October 1965, following32months of work. Officially known as theGateway Arch or Gateway to the West, it is the tallest man-made monument in the United States,towering630feet(192m)overthecityof St. Louis. When the structure was completed, theFederalAviationAdministrationissuedanorder that any aviators who flew under thearchwouldreceiveaheftyfineandhavetheirpilot’slicenserevoked.Atleast10pilotshavedisobeyedtheedict.Onlyoncehavefliersbeenpermitted—duringtheJuly4thfestivitiesofthenation’sbicentennialin1976.

• Germany’s Oktoberfest got its start in 1810,celebrating the marriage of Crown PrinceLudwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese vonSachsen-Hildburghausen. The royal coupleinvited the citizens of Munich to join in their wedding festivities, and the following year, all the merriment was repeated, beginning the tradition of a 16-day Oktoberfest each year.The Munich commemoration is the world’slargest fair, drawing more than five millionpeople every autumn.

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By Samantha Mazzotta

Space Heaters Are Handy, But ...

It’s that time of year again. As temperatures cool down and Jack Frost makes an appearance, homeowners start looking for efficient ways to heat their homes. It’s also when the number of fires caused by improperly used portable electric space heaters begin to climb.

Yet we can’t abandon space heaters entirely — they provide decent supple-mental heat to individual rooms, and in some parts of the U.S. are the only source of heat during cold snaps. So, careful selection and the observance of safety rules is the best solution to the dilemma of whether or not to use a space heater.

If you’re using an older model, check it thoroughly for problems — a frayed cord, damaged heating ele-ments, dented or rusted casing and so on. Dam-aged space heaters should be replaced as soon as pos-sible.

When purchasing a new electric space heater, make sure it has the Underwrit-er’s Laboratory (UL) label attached to it. Avoid heaters that feature “open” heating elements (heating elements protected only by a mesh grille). An estimated 6,000 people a year are treated in hospital emergency rooms for burns caused by con-tacting the hot surfaces of room heaters. Heaters that

circulate warmed liquid or oil through a closed system are a safer option.

Although most space heat-ers rely on convection (the circulation of air) to heat an entire room, some rely on radiant heating: infrared radiation that directly heats up objects and people that are within the heater’s line of sight. Radiant heaters are a more efficient choice when you’ll be in a room for only a few hours, but you must stay within its line of sight.

Set up the space heater at least 3 feet away from fur-niture, drapes, bedding and other combustible materi-als. Do not place or prop it up on anything; put it flat on the floor, away from foot traffic. Be especially care-ful to keep children and pets away from the heater, and operate only when adults are in the room. When you go to bed, turn the heater off — stay warm underneath the covers instead.

If you use an extension cord with the heater, make sure the cord is marked No. 14 or No. 12 American Wire Gauge (AWG) — this is printed on the label attached to the extension cord when purchased.

Send your questions or comments to [email protected], or write This Is a Hammer, c/o King Fea-tures Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

© 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

—33—

Returning Vets at Risk for CrashesIf you’re newly back from

Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s possible that you’re dif-ferent behind the wheel of a car now than before you left. If that’s the case, you’re not alone. According to a Department of Defense report to Congress, vehicle crashes are the largest cause of deaths among veterans.

As reported in a recent study, within the first 30 days home, 25 percent of veterans had gone through stop signs, 49 percent were anxious when approached quickly by another vehicle, 31 percent experienced anxiety when there was something by the side of the road and 20 percent were anxious when the situation was normal.

Here are some questions to ask yourself: Have you scared anybody with your driving or been told you drive dangerously? If you’re driving in the middle of the road to avoid the edges, weaving in traffic or mak-ing sudden changes, going through stop signs or not yielding to other drivers, or driving over the speed limit, then your driving hasn’t calmed down yet. How about risky stuff like not

using a seatbelt, or driving after drinking, or owning a fast car?

And let’s be frank: There could be an adrenaline com-ponent there too. It could take up to 12 months before driving behaviors return to normal. In the mean-time, you don’t want to put yourself and others at risk. You’re home now.

The Department of Veter-ans Affairs has a program called the Safe Driving Initiative, designed to help returning veterans under-stand why their driving behavior is different and to give tips about how to calm down while driving. Look at www.safedriving.va.gov. Check Richard Pet-ty’s video.

Take a look at a brochure called, “Shifting Gears: Soldiers Returning to Driv-ing on the Homefront” for veterans and families. Go online to www.armymedi-cine.army.mil/prr/post_combat.html

Welcome home. Now stay safe.

Write to Freddy Groves in care of King Features Week-ly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to column [email protected].


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Oct 23 -29Page 3

OCTOBER OCCASIONS (continued):•October 25 is set aside as St. Crispin’s Day

as a tribute to Crispin, the patron saint of shoemakers. According to legend, Crispin, who lived in Rome during the third century, preached during the day and produced shoes at night.Traditionstatesthathewasbeheadedforteaching the gospel.

•On her 63rd birthday in October of 1901,retiredschoolteacherAnnieEdsonTaylorandher cat climbed into an oak pickle barrel padded with a mattress and plunged over Niagara Falls.Shewas thefirstperson to survive theride.Thebarrel,heldtogetherwithsevenironhoops, also contained an anvil for maintaining balance. With the goal of financial security,Taylor aimed to capitalize on her adventure.After collecting meager earnings promoting her feat,shediedpennilessatage83.Althoughsheonly received a minor concussion and a small cut on her head, she said, “If it was with my dying breath, I would caution anyone against attempting the feat. I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing it was going to blow me to pieces, than make another trip overtheFalls.”

•In October of 1908, the Chicago Cubsdefeated the Detroit Tigers in the WorldSeries. And that’s the last time they’ve won it todate;theteamhasgone102yearswithoutachampionship, the longest of any major North American professional sports team.

•Thatfamoussilentfilm“TheSheik,”starringRudolph Valentino, premiered in October of 1921.Unfortunately,theItalian“LatinLover,”bornRodolphoAlfonzoRafaeloPierreFilibertGuglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguolla, died just10yearslateratage31ofperitonitis.Andspeaking of name changes, Rudolph’s wife Natacha Rambova changed hers slightly as well; she was born Winifred Hudnut!

—28—

Way to Go! Cheers Can Give

Big BoostI was up at the crack of

dawn on a recent weekend morning for the Twin Cities Marathon. It was a perfect fall day. No, I didn’t run, but I did lots of rooting from the sidelines at mile six, near our

house where runners reach the top of their first hill. I wasn’t the only one. Stand-ing across the street amidst the early-morning crowd was a young family decked out in bright-yellow T-shirts blazing with encouraging hand-painted sayings: “You Rock!”; “Go Sue Go!”; “Love you, Sue!”

“It’s so difficult to run a marathon of over 26 miles for the first time,” said Sue’s sister, Lynn Burley, mom of two school-age girls, teacher and seasoned marathoner. It makes such a difference in reaching your goal when people encourage and cheer for you along the way. It’s as important as training, water and food.” Sure enough, see-ing the familiar faces of her daughter and sister’s family would be the initial cheers of many she’d receive on her way to crossing the fin-ish line.

I came home thinking about how everyone can use a boost once in a while. The gestures can be simple, yet can yield big results in the lives of people we support.

That’s when my husband told me about Desiree Kuik, the human resources person at a K-12 school where he works.

She’s always up to moti-vating the teachers and staff,” he said. Sure enough, to prove his point, he pulled out of his briefcase an eye-catching cellophane bag he found on his desk after a very busy week of work. On the outside was a printed sticker that read: “Here’s S’more Encouragement!” Inside the bag were two gra-ham crackers, two marsh-mallows, a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, and a simple recipe card she had printed on her computer:

EASY S’MORESLayer the following: 1/2 graham cracker 4 small blocks of chocolate 1 large marshmallow 1/2 graham cracker

Microwave for 15 seconds. The recipe ended with

“Enjoy the gooey treat!” And we did. I’m sure all the teachers and staff who received the thoughtful ges-ture felt encouraged by it and enjoyed it, too.

Feeling inspired? Find someone, and encourage your family to cheer ‘em on and give ‘em a boost this week.

***Donna Erickson’s award-

winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public televi-sion nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.don-nasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2011 Donna EricksonDistributed by King Features Synd.

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Oct 23 - 29Page 4

OCTOBER OCCASIONS (continued):•In 1962, before London Bridge really could

fall down, the city of London made plans to replace the 1831 structure, which could nolongersupportitsheavytrafficload.Asearlyas1924,theeastsideofthebridge’sfoundationwassinkingundertheweight.In1968,Londonsold the bridge to a U.S. oil executive for $2.4 million and thus began the process of dismantling the edifice, carefully numberingeach piece to help with reassembly. In October of1971,thebridgereopenedinLakeHavasuCity, Arizona, and is now the state’s second-biggest tourist attraction, with only the Grand Canyon drawing more visitors.

•The“Crashof‘29”cameonOctober29,1929,when the New York Stock Exchange completely collapsed after several days of panic. On “Black Tuesday,” the Dow lost 23 percentof its value, wiping out billions of dollars of wealthinoneday.Itwasthefinancialruinofbanks, businesses and individuals, which, with soaringunemploymentrates,usheredinthe12years of the Great Depression.

•The famous gunfight at the OK Corral inTombstone,Arizona, in October 1881 lastedonly 30 seconds, with 30 shots fired andthreemenkilled.TheEarpBrothersandDocHolliday were up against the Clanton-McLaury gang, a group of cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers. TwoMcLaury brothers and BillyClanton were killed, while Holliday and two of theEarpswerewounded.Theshootoutdidn’treally take place in the Corral, but rather in a wide alley six doors east of the Corral’s rear entrance.

•TheGrandOleOprygotitsstartinNashvilleinOctoberof1925asaone-hourradiobroadcast.Featured artists in those early days includedThePossumHunters,TheGullyJumpersandTheFruitJarDrinkers.

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Oct 23 -29Page 5

OVERCOMING THE ODDS:

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMERIf youwatch the FoxNews channel, youmaybe familiarwith regularpanelistCharlesKrau-thammer.Permanentlyinjuredasayoungman,he refused to allow disability to derail his career plans.FollowalongasTidbits brings you up to date on this incredible man’s life. • By age 20, Charles Krauthammer already

had an honors degree in political science and economics in hand and was furthering his education as a Commonwealth Scholar at Oxford. It was then on to Harvard to attend medical school.

•At age 22, as a freshman in pre-med,Krauthammer broke his neck in a divingaccident and was paralyzed. A hospital visit from Harvard’s associate dean of students helped direct the rest ofKrauthammer’s life.Although confined to a wheelchair, he wasdeterminedtostayinclass.Thedeanarrangedfor his professors to give bedside lectures, using the ceiling as a screen for the slide presentations.

•Krauthammer underwent a year of rehab ina Harvard teaching hospital to enable him to continue his studies. Because he did not relearn the skill of handwriting for another three years, he was allowed to take his tests orally. He earnedhisM.D.in1975andbeganacareeraschief resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. During his tenure there, he and a colleague discovered a mental illness related to bipolar disease, resulting in highly acclaimed medical journal writings.

•In 1978, at age 28, Krauthammer left hismedicalpracticetoworkfortheJimmyCarteradministration as a director of psychiatric research.

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Oct 23 - 29Page 6

KRAUTHAMMER (continued):•Hebeganbranchingout into journalism,first

as a contributor, then later a regular writer and editor at The New Republic magazine. The 1980 presidential campaign brought theopportunity to serve as a speech writer for Vice PresidentWalterMondale during his run fortheexecutiveoffice.

•Krauthammer’s journalism career furtherexpanded when he began writing essays for Time magazine in 1983. He nabbed 1984’s“National Magazine Award for Essays and Criticism.” The following year, The Washington Post began featuring a weekly column by Krauthammer, which led to the1987 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Hewas responsible for coining the term “TheReagan Doctrine,” referring to the strategy implemented by the Reagan Administration to oppose the Soviet Union’s global attempts to promote communism.

• Financial Times magazine has declared Krauthammer “the most influentialcommentator in America.” Considered an expert in the area of foreign policy, bioethics and electoral politics, Krauthammer is apanelist on the PBS weekly news program“Inside Washington” and does a nightly stint as apoliticalcommentatoronFoxNews.Duringhis broadcasts, you might see him twist and turn in his wheelchair as he seeks to relieve some of the pain he experiences on a daily basis.

• Krauthammer is president of the charitableorganization The Krauthammer Foundationand also serves as chairman of Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization devoted to recovering and bringing lost or neglected Jewishmusictoconcerthalls.

•At the time of his accident, CharlesKrauthammerpushedhimselfbeyondmeasurein order to “keep disaster from turning into ruin.” It’s apparent that he triumphs over his disability every single day.

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Oct 23 -29Page 7

OCTOBER CELEBRITIESThisweek,let’sseewhatmakesalltheseOcto-ber-born celebrities unique. • As theNaziswerebombingGreatBritain inOctober of 1940, Julia Lennon was givingbirth tohersonJohn inaLiverpoolhospital.She gave him the middle name of Winston, in honor of Prime Minister Churchill. JohnLennon’s Aunt Mimi gifted him with a guitar whenhewas16,tellinghim,“Theguitar’sallverywell as a hobby, John, but you’ll nevermake a living out of it.” Before long, Lennon had formed his first band, The Quarrymen.PaulMcCartney joinedup in1957, followedby George Harrison in 1958. By 1960, theywere known as The Beatles. Lennon wasreturning home from a recording session for a new album when he was gunned down in December of 1980. The albumwas releasedafter his death as “Milk and Honey.”

•Although perhaps best known these daysas the stepfather of the Kardashians, BruceJenner’sfirstnotorietycameasaresultofhisOlympic gold medal decathlon feats. He set a worldrecordintheeventatthe1976Montrealgames,afterabronzemedal in1972.Hehasbeen involved in a variety of endeavors since that time. Even though Jenner hadn’t playedbasketball since high school, the year after theOlympics,theKansasCityKingsselectedhim in the 139th pick of the NBA draft.Jenner opted for a career in TVmovies andserieswork,aswellasgameshowsand“TheAmerican Sportsman.” He was a successful racecar driver during the 1980s; he pluggedtheStairClimberPlusonaninfomercial;andhe began a career as a motivational speaker andTVsportscommentator.Inadditiontohisrole on “KeepingUpwith theKardashians,”he owns Bruce JennerAviation, which sellsaircraft supplies. Through it all, Jenner haslived with dyslexia and has appeared on the adulteducationalTVseries“LearntoRead.”

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I’ll Slap to ThatJim Harbaugh deserves

to be commended, not rep-rimanded ... at least not this time.

No, even in the “No Fun League,” a hearty backslap-ping and “hard handshake” of Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz after his San Francisco 49ers handed the Lion’s their first defeat of the 2011 campaign falls a bit short of the standard when it comes to levying a fine. At least one would hope.

By now, you’ve no doubt heard of the pseudo-con-troversy. Harbaugh shakes hand, slaps back. Schwartz then breaks the longest run by a Lion not named Barry Sanders in recent memory, bounding after Harbaugh, yelling incomprehensibly. Harbaugh is then put in the awkward position of having to explain, what? Enthusi-asm?

Handshaking after a game is a long tradition. I would go so far as to surmise that if you hail from a country that recognizes the shaking of hands as a polite gesture or symbolic in some fashion, if said country plays sports, they’ve been shaking hands after a contest since the dawn of the republic.

And why do we do this? No, not to show sportsman-ship ... to show awkward-ness. Maybe your country-club tennis match ends in a handshake out of gracious-ness, but in the professional and college ranks the hand-shake is a televised moment. Every time. Think about it. Have you ever seen a foot-

ball game broadcast cut out before the handshake? No, you have not. Same goes with basketball and tennis.

Let’s admit it ... every time we watch we look to see who is the sore loser, arrogant winner or, in some cases, we’re secretly pin-ing for another match ... as if the game just played wasn’t enough. Will Jimmy Connors punch John McEn-roe in the face? Will Mike Tyson eat Lennox Lewis’ children?

And if the fans don’t want it, the media certain-ly do. I don’t remember the outcome of the games, but I do remember the ana-lysts discussing the terse handshakes between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangi-ni. Belichick doesn’t like the coverage.

[Handshakes are] so heav-ily scrutinized by the media that it’s an event bigger than the game itself, which is so absurd,” Belichick said in a recent ESPN interview. “I think it’s pretty ridiculous that the media focuses on it the way it does.”

Belichick doesn’t under-stand all of the fuss, but for-mer New York Giants base-ball manager John McGraw did.

“Sportsmanship and easy-going methods are all right, but it is the prospect of a hot fight that brings out the crowds,” he said.

I’ll slap to that.Mark Vasto is a veteran

sportswriter who lives in Kansas City.


—35—

King Features W

eekly ServiceO

ctober 24, 2011

—34—

Best Way to Treat COPD? Quit

SmokingDEAR DR. DONO-

HUE: My mother is in her early 70s. She has been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD. She had a bronchoscopic exam to remove a mucus plug. She was a very heavy smoker. She still smokes. She thinks her kids don’t know, but we have seen the evidence. She is on oxygen. Her doctor thinks she has quit. What does this do to her life expectancy? How long can she live this way? — J.S.

ANSWER: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, is two ill-nesses: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Emphy-sema is a harmful stretch-ing and destruction of the millions of air sacs found in the lungs. Through those delicate structures, oxygen reaches the blood. When they are damaged, a person cannot get enough oxygen and becomes breathless on even slight exertion. Chron-ic bronchitis is inflamma-tion of the air passageways, the bronchi. They fill with thick, pus-filled globs of phlegm. Air cannot pass through them. A cough that produces of sticky, tena-cious sputum is its chief sign.

Cigarette smoking is the major cause of COPD, but not the only one.

It’s hard to watch people ruin their own bodies and hasten death. That’s what your mother is doing. Tell her that the most important treatment for COPD is total abstinence from smoking.

Abstinence allows lungs to recover from the damage done from inhaling cigarette smoke. It doesn’t achieve a complete reversal over-night. It does prolong life.

What does this do to her life expectancy? It short-ens it. How long can she live? That can’t be foretold. Unequivocally, she will live longer and enjoy her life more if she never lights up again.

COPD is a major prob-lem and the fourth-leading cause of death. The COPD booklet explains its causes and treatments. To order a copy, write: Dr. Donohue — No. 601W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

***DEAR DR. DONOHUE:

I have arthritis. Every time it rains, my pain seems to increase. I attend the Arthritis Foundation’s exercise classes, and we all have the same response to rainy weather. We’re wondering if this is due to increased humidity, low barometric pressure or just an “old wives’ tale.” — E.S.

ANSWER: A drop in baro-metric pressure along with an increase in humidity has been demonstrated to cause a flare of arthritis. It’s the exact set of conditions that happen prior to a storm.

Some arthritics experi-ence more joint pain when temperature drops.

***Dr. Donohue regrets that

he is unable to answer indi-vidual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newslet-ters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

© 2011 North America Synd., Inc.All Rights Reserved

Free Flu ShotsQuite a few communities

are offering free flu shots, more so than in recent years. For those of us who don’t yet have Medicare, or have an insurance plan that won’t pay for a shot, these free clinics can be a big help.

Ask about free shots at work, senior centers, local health departments and home health aide groups, at the hospital, town hall and local college. Go online to google.com and put “free flu shot” in the search box, along with the name of your town.

Even if you can’t find a free shot this year, get one if your doctor thinks you should have it.

To find a flu shot online, go first to www.flu.gov and scroll down the right side to Flu Vaccine Finder, and put in your ZIP code. Also check www.INeedAFluShot.org and www.findaflushot.com.

If you’re age 65 or older, ask your doctor if you should have the extra-strength shot for seniors.

If you want to keep tabs on the spread of flu this win-ter, the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention has a website (www.cdc.gov/flu) with maps, information on prevention and more. Be sure to read the section on How Flu Spreads. Did you know that someone 6 feet away can spread it to others by coughing or sneezing?

The vaccines this year include an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus and an influenza B virus, so keep your hand sanitizer ready. Use the wipes provided at the grocery store on the shopping cart handle before you even touch it. Learn not to touch your face with your hands.

Remember, it takes a few weeks for the vaccine to become affective.

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to [email protected].


King Features W

eekly ServiceO

ctober 24, 2011

WANTED AUBURN Football programs from 60’s and 70’s with Phil Neel art on cover. Will pay top $! Contact Andy 887-1248.

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Oct 23 - 29Page 8

OCTOBER CELEBRITIES (continued):• The family of comedian, writer and actor

Chevy Chase has been around New York a long time. Born Cornelius Crane Chase in October of 1943, Chase is a 14th-generationNew Yorker, tracing his Manhattan ancestors back to 1624; two former NYC mayors areamong them. Although he was listed in the Social Register at a young age, that didn’t keep him from working odd jobs such as cab driver, busboy, supermarket produce manager, wine store manager and theater usher. Many members of Chase’s family have been involved in the arts, including his book editor/writer father, concert pianist mother, opera singer grandmother, artist grandfather and painter great-uncle. As valedictorian of his high school class, he had ambitions of becoming a doctor. But his comedic nature won out, even resulting in expulsion from Haverford College for bringing a cow into a campus building. Although famous as one of “Saturday Night Live’s” original cast members, he was actually hired on the show as a writer, and became a cast member during rehearsals.

• JohnMayer is not only a Grammy-winning,multi-platinum-album-selling singer, he is also achronometrophile.Thatmeansheisanavidcollector of watches, and he has a collection of timepieces worth about $20 million. Healso loves to collect sneakers! Mayer began playingguitaratage13onaninstrumenthisfather rented. A medical emergency when he was17gothimstartedasasongwriter.Afterbeing stricken with cardiac arrhythmia, Mayer spent several days in the hospital and, in his words,“Thatwasthemoment thesongwriterinmewasborn.”Hewrotehisfirst song thenight he arrived home from the hospital.

—36—

The Ebb and Flow of Jimmie Johnson

CONCORD, N.C. — Think the Chase for the Sprint Cup varies week to week? Consider the extreme example of the driver who has won the past five cham-pionships.

Jimmie Johnson offers evi-dence of how the NASCAR title format punishes mis-takes more than it rewards successes.

Finishes of 10th and 18th in the Chase’s first two races left Johnson 29 points behind Tony Stewart, who won them both. Then Johnson finished second at Dover and first at Kansas, pulling to within four points

of the lead, now occupied by Carl Edwards.

Johnson crashed at Char-lotte in the Bank of America 500, resulting in a placing of 34th. As a result, he is now eighth, 35 points behind Edwards. The point system changed this year, and each point has a greater value. Comparing point totals of 2010 with those of the cur-rent year, the gap between Edwards and Johnson, 35 points, is the equivalent of

about 90 under the previous format.

Five races remain. John-son’s bid for a sixth straight title is in jeopardy, but he is far from conceding.

“We just have to go rac-ing,” he said. “That’s all there is to it. There are five races left, and right now all we have are those five races.

“Definitely not the night we wanted. This is not going to help us win a sixth

championship. I promise you, this team and myself, we won’t quit. We will go for every point we can from here on out, and hopefully we are still champions at the end of the year.”

The volatility is obvious in everyone’s results except Edwards, who has finished eighth or better in each Chase race (ninth or better in his last eight, dating back to the regular season), and Kevin Harvick, who has finished 12th or better in the Chase events. At the top, they are five points apart.

The last four positions in the Chase standings are occu-pied by drivers in consider-ably worse situations than Johnson. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 60 points out of the lead, followed by Ryan Newman (-61), Jeff Gordon (-66) and Denny Hamlin (-86).

***Monte Dutton covers

motorsports for The Gas-ton (N.C.) Gazette. E-mail Monte at [email protected].


Jimmie Johnson’s quest for a sixth straight Cup title took a hit after a wreck at Charlotte Motor Speedway dropped him to eighth in the standings with five races left. (John Clark/NASCAR This Week photo)

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