“Looks can be deceiving…..and books should never be judged by their covers.”

She was a beautiful young girl, intelligent, full of wanderlust and oft described too worldly for her age and simple roots. She read voraciously and daydreamed of seeing places, miles beyond her country surroundings. People thought of her as ‘bookish and withdrawn’, as she seemed to value nature and wildlife…..perhaps life in general, absorbing it with the sensitivity of one beyond her years. She colored “outside the lines” and though she was not rebellious, the respect she maintained for the general social mores of her kind was distasteful to her. She saw the good in people.

No wonder, the tender age of sixteen caused her curiosity about love and feelings to peak early on and before long, the crush she had on the handsome high school quarterback, who was also studious and sensitive, as the oldest child of two doctors, became full blown. The parents of each of the young couple strongly discouraged any thoughts of a serious relationship so early on in the young lives of their children, protesting there was too much life ahead to consider any feelings they had so intensely.

The two honor students kept their grades up, often studying together, and enjoyed being an envied couple. Their world seemed perfect as future plans for attending colleges near each other would enable the precious and treasured relationship to continue and grow. The parents secretly hoped that as the young couple matured, they would venture apart and have time to enjoy and experience more of life before deciding they should be each other’s “one and only”.

As has happened before and will happen again, nature threw a kink into everyone’s plans as a “third party” became determined to enter the scenario in nine month’s time. Although heartsick, frightened and disappointed, the young couple confided in understanding and sympathetic parents and plans were made to help a young life enter the world, welcomed and loved.

The young woman had an aunt and uncle who had remained, to their deep regret, childless, throughout their marriage. Plans were made for the precious new baby to be adopted by them, immediately after birth.

The generosity of the aunt and uncle, who lived in a distant state was appreciated by all, and the traumatized young lovers soon went their separate ways. He left for college, and following in the footsteps of his parents, became a doctor. The young woman also futhered her education, a year later than planned, and after meeting all requirements, attained an MBA.

The happy new parents of a gorgeous baby boy doted on him every minute of his life. His proud father raced modified cars as a hobby and spent much of his time at local race tracks. He was also a NASCAR fan, and the family travelled to races at ever opportunity. The child grew up around cars and displayed a keen aptitude, early on, for racing. He loved to drive and he ran to win….go carts, anything with wheels lit the fire in his flat little belly.

He was not pushed, but rather developed, and everything in his psyche took second place to cars and racing them or tinkering with them. His dedicated Dad shared that bond and before long, the trophy room in their house was decadently filled with the bounty of success. His mother made sure he paid attention to his school woork and he was a good student.

Needless to say, luck and proper progression propelled the young man to professional ranks, as he was discovered, sought after, signed and before he was twenty-one, racing in the NASCAR second tier series. A year of success in that genre resulted in being selected for a coveted NASCAR Cup Series ride and before long, he won several races. He lives among and is admired and well liked by fellow competitors. His best friends include Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. Kyle Busch thinks of him as a mentor.
His career continues…….

The young driver does not know any parents, other than those who raised him so lovingly, and he has no idea of the situation of his birth. His family thought it best to allow him to function in a selective, exclusive, more open world that may not be so accepting of him if his social delineations were known…..

Of course it doesn’t matter, and there really is no need to make an issue of the truth, I suppose. One might wonder, sometimes, as do the adoptive parents of the NASCAR driver, what people would really think if they knew the handsome young quarterback and father of the child who became their own so many years ago, was Black.

The Secret Irony in Victory Lane is Diversity……

You just never know.

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