This is a second entry because today is really Saturday - and this Saturday is the big NASCAR race in Daytona Beach. Now I wouldn't exactly call Daytona Beach a metropolis. It is more of a sleepy beach town where people go to work just like everywhere else until NARCAR weekends and Bike week. Unless you observe this yearly ritual, you can't imagine what happens. There is a group of people crazy for the races and they must save all year so they can go to the track, pay a huge price for tickets, a huge price for parking and I'm sure huge proces for everything that is sold there as well. Then there are those of us who don't care to be in a mob of happy beer drinkers (many) who try to see a car whisk by. Better to watch on TV - if you even care for that. The second group of people do all they can to avoid the area as though a plague had come. You can't drive without a crowd, you can't go to a restaurant in the area and not have a long wait, you can't even park in malls because everyone decides that that is the place to park and walk a few blocks. The area is invaded/

Fri. in my travels I had to cross International Speedway Drive where the track is located. The road leading to it now had signs stating "No parking" after it was a wall to wall parking lot last year. The traffic was thick and every cow patch within a few miles had a "Parking $20" sign. The track was already filled with motor homes of those who must have made reservations last year so they could be part of the infield crowd. It was already packed.

One thing that I'm wondering is whether the familiar saying "Gentlemen, start your engines" now must have the "Gentlemen" left off because the fair sex has invaded the territory of drivers. Well, whoever wins the race, congratulations, guy or chick. Hope the accidents are just fender benders and nothing serious.