CNIIARCHIVES
P142
BY KENT TAYLOR
S
orting through nostalgia is a process a lot like
the Old West art of panning for gold, where
dirty, silty sludge gets swished and swirled,
mixed with more water and swirled again. Sand, dirt
and pebbles are gradually washed away, leaving
the lucky gold digger (sporting a long, grey beard,
of course) with a tiny nugget or two of real gold.
We swish through our past in much the same way,
washing away the ugly bits of heartache and failure,
eventually pausing to reflect on a handful of shiny
moments. Years of reminiscing have polished them
to a gleaming luster. Anxiety and frustration lay in
a pile below, as real as ever, but momentarily out of
mind. Rock on, Gold Dust Woman.
Motorcycle road racing from the past can provide
a good example of panhandled memories. The stars
of the 1970s are today's legends, and the motor
-
cycles they rode now sit in museums (or sadly, in the
dens of haughty, private collectors). These racers
and their machines are the gold nuggets.
SHINY MOMENTS
TALLADEGA, 1971
Yvon Duhamel
built an unheard-
of 76-second lead
at the Talladega
National in 1971.
The caption says it all.
