Subj: I don't know what it was, but it was somethin FAST
Date: 11/29/00

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!
I headed up to Maine to be with my mother for Thanksgiving. This will probably be her last one at home before she will need to be in a boarding home because of deteriorating health. Aaron and Annie Chung were gracious, and offered for Craig and I to stay overnight before continuing the trip to Maine. My plans for an early arrival at the Chungs went down the tube the moment I arrived at work. To make a long story short, I spent several hours at work preparing documentation that after completion......was no longer needed.
The first 15 miles of the trip went fine and then we hit construction with holiday traffic. The next 5 miles took one hour. We arrived at the Chungs at 2330 (11:30 PM / 4.5 hours late!). I hadn't seen them since NSXPO and it was good to be with them again. I have always found them to be upbeat. They offered a tour of the house, so we accepted. The living room is the home to a LARGE screen HDTV. It's the size that makes you feel like having popcorn (with extra butter), raisinettes, and a large drink. On a shelf is a collection of Japanese NSX/exotic car videos and car models. Annie shows me a model she had built that required MANY small decals (like the lettering on the tires!). The decision to furnish the living room was an either/or decision. Either a super charger for the NSX or furniture (If you're unsure of the decision, ask Mark Basch). Upstairs, Aaron's office has a large desk to hold his computer with racing posters on the wall. Annie has a card table size desk to hold her laptop. I look at Aaron.... look at Annie's table.......look back at Aaron (giving him the look). "Hey, she doesn't need much!", was the reply. I figure payback to Annie is going to be a bitch, but as the conversation continues, I think Annie has similar interests. They show us to the guest room and I smirk and chuckle. There is a BIG contrast between their guest room and mine. They have a large room with a bureau, two night stands, and a bed. Mine is a small room with, two sets of scuba gear (I'm prepared for a 40day/night rain storm), racing memorabilia to include used Champ car parts, 3 bureaus, a China closet, and yes, I squeezed a bed in. Aaron tries to make me feel better by saying mine is more interesting.

(The real reason for the stop)
At NSXPO, Aaron had mentioned that he played ping pong. I told him that I played when I was a teenager and liked the game. Aaron, sensing fresh meat and an easy kill, offered to play sometime. "Well, sometime has arrived Ping Pong Boy!!" I took off my sweat shirt so I could physic him out with my "No Fear" T-shirt. It read, "You don't get to be the best because you're lucky.....What you get with luck is good parking."
We headed to the cellar to begin the massacre. Aaron does his part to throw my game off by having me peek into his garage. Next to his Lexus SUV is a new, bright yellow, S-2000. I sigh, hang my head, and shake it back and forth (where did I go wrong in life?). We go out in the garage and talk car stuff for a while and then return to the house of horror. Now, don't think that I had any delusions of winning, I just wanted to see what it would be like to play against a pro. I had to do the trash talk, it's all part of the sport. This is how the game went. I serve, Aaron hits it, I pick up the ball (this happens 5 times. AKA: 5 points for Aaron). Aaron serves it, I pick up the ball (this happens 5 more times. AKA: 5 more points for Aaron; get the picture). Aaron tries to let me bow out gracefully (I'm just getting warmed up, he practiced earlier in the evening while waiting for my arrival; Aaron has a tournament to play in Baltimore the next day). While serving the ball to me, Aaron states the type of spin that is applied to the ball, "Back spin" (I hit the ball and it immediately hits the table just in front of my paddle way short of the net; "Forward spin" ( I hit the ball but it goes way past the table) "Left spin" followed by "Right spin" (I hit the ball either side of the table) I think Aaron feels his warning as to the type of spin will somehow help me to successfully return the ball (it doesn't). My son, who has been watching me play, looks for a paper bag to put over his head from shame, can't find one, so announces he is going upstairs to watch TV. I tell Aaron, "OK, lets see what cha got, give me the heater; the old number one!" I serve the ball and Aaron lays into it. I remember seeing him hit the ball; I heard the ball hit the table; and the ball bounces off the back wall as I start to move the paddle where I thought the ball might hit the table. I smile and say, "Let me see you do that again!" He does. Aaron is ready to move on to something else, but I want to play, I mean, try to hit the ball some more. (Craig returns from upstairs) I am having a great time. Aaron doesn't understand why I am enjoying this. For me, it is a chance to play against a pro. It is like playing tennis with Aggassi or driving white knuckled on the track thinking it can't be done any faster and have Zanardi blow by you like you like you were standing still. It's the joy of being around greatness. I ask Craig if he wants to play. He reluctantly agrees, but then gets into the spirit and is having fun. As times goes I'm thinking how to graciously say, "Is it my turn yet?" Aaron decides it's time to retire upstairs to the TV so that we can watch some videos. Craig points to the coffee table that has the five or so complicated remote controls. "That's why I returned down cellar so quick," he says, "I was afraid to push the wrong button on the I don't know which remote I have". We watch videos until 0300 the next morning. After a quick sleep, the other part of morning has arrived. The four of us go out for breakfast. Aaron asks if I want to drive the Lexu.....(I rush to the door and grab for the keys) The trip to the restaurant was directed by Aaron. Breakfast was good and the conversation better. Now for the trip back to the Chungs. Aaron turns on the GPS Navigation for me. "Well this doesn't work very well, it isn't telling me which way to turn!" Aaron states I have to push the on screen "Agree" button before it will work. "Oh", I say sheepishly, pondering if I should put on my glasses. He tells me to turn left out of the parking lot. As we approach the traffic light he states that I will be turning left. I said, "I'm not turning left until it tells me to!" The light turns red and I stop in the right lane. Aaron fiddles with it and then a voice from the dash says, "Turn left." Well that's a hellava time to tell me now that I'm in the right lane. There is no traffic blocking me so I shift to the left lane. From there the Nav system is guiding us back with distant cues until turns along with the street names.
It is time for Craig and I to head for Maine to celebrate Thanksgiving, yet we don't want to leave Aaron and Annie behind. As we get on the interstate, Craig remarks about the graduation tassels he saw on the lights in the guest room. He had not met Annie before and thought they were her high school tassels. Although both Aaron and Annie are in their mid twenties, they look closer to being teenagers. As he looked at the year on the tassels he realized they couldn't be high school, they must be......Yup, her dual MITs. Craig was impressed with how successful both Aaron and Annie have become so early in life. I told him it took a lot of hard work; it wasn't handed to them. He also thought they were both cool. For a moment, I though I saw a spark of enthusiasm from my son. He's smart, but doesn't see the difference between getting an "A" and a "D"; they still pass you (my son believes in conservation of energy). Because of their young appearance and personalities, I think he can relate to them. I think I should talk them into my "rent a son" program. They can see what it would be like to have children, and who knows, if Craig isn't careful, the spark I saw might turn into a flame.
Larry G.