Chapter Buddies in the News

I know, this is late notice. I could have been a heckuva lot smarter, but no one's accusing me these days of being particularly intelligent. I should have let you know last week, not now, that Chris MacNicol (a.k.a., Tire Man) and CPL. John Hyland ("A Purple Heart and a Titanium Leg") were to be on Sirius NASCAR Radio last Friday night discussing their stories.

There was no time to get out a note. With NASCAR about to launch the season, I'm busier than Michael Jackson locked in a secure underground pre-school after a neutron bomb has wiped out all adults above. Yeah, I'm more slammed than Lindsay Lohan at an open bar the night before she goes away to prison for DUI. I'm more tied up than Madonna after visiting a hardware store for rope on a kinky Friday night. I've got more on my plate than Kirstie Alley. Too busy to write this blog, but here I am, coffee from the corner cart guy drizzling onto the keyboard, apologizing for not giving sufficient advance word that two of our Chapter Buddies made a stunning debut on "Dialed in with Claire B. Lange" on Sirius Satellite Radio.

CPL. Hyland shared some very exciting news. Those who have read THE WEEKEND STARTS ON WEDNESDAY know he sang opera before managing a Hooters then joining the Army. (A real Rennaissance Man.) Well, John is now on the verge of getting a recording contract. I don't want to give him a kunahara; enough said for now. We'll share more details on this site when things are locked down.

CPL. Hyland and Tire Man are not the only chapter buddies in the news. Today, The New York Times talks to Jack Hege, our opening chapter, who has been to every single Daytona 500, and returns to Daytona Beach this week for the 52nd consecutive year.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is set to run a story (possibly as soon as Wednesday) on Steve and Christine Deuker ("Ryan's Hope"). They'll tell their story about losing their dear son Joseph, then finding comfort in Ryan Newman, who is strikingly similar to Joe. (The Deukers have taken it upon themselves to rally the "Chapter Buddies" on a facebook page, which is very cool. I can't wait for several of the fans in the book to meet this Saturday at Daytona Int'l Speedway at the Sprint Experience -- NOON SHARP. Yeah, the Deukers will be joined by Tire Man in his Goodyear Eagle, Right Turn Ryan, The Fathead Guy Ken Gregory, Mike Wright, Sgt. Russ Friedman, CPL. Hyland, and hopefully Jack Hege and others. We'll launch The Weekend Starts on Wednesday officially to our fans, do some trivia, and give away a few copies.)

Here's the kind of people Steve and Christine are. When they heard Jack Hege (who is in his 80's and has sore knees) would be at the Daytona 500, they started to arrange for an electric wheelchair for this man they've never met. (Jack isn't sure he'll use it; to show the kind of guy he is, he doesn't want to "slow down" his friends at track.)

Finally, if you saw Saturday Night Live this weekend, S.E. Cupp ("A NASCAR Alien in NY") took a shot in a skit making fun of attractive women on consevative cable news shows. Here is S.E. reaction to the SNL Fox parody, "Attractive Blonde Lady:"
http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-q/2010/02/attractive-blonde-lady-responds-to-snl.html