I thought that you might find this interesting.

In my wild youth when I was attending El Camino College after graduating high school, my Italian grandfather, who was part of a racing team that raced at the Indianapolis racetrack in the old wire wheel days when the track was made of bricks, helped me build a street rod. When the car was finally finished and ready for Hawthorne Blvd and assorted other illegal raceways in addition to the legal Lion's Drag Strip, I had one more item to add to enhance my racing ability.

I added a record player that attached under the dash. It played 45's and was designed to work while the car was in motion - no skips. The 45 that was usually sitting in it ready to be loaded was "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs. When I was sitting at a stop and being challenged by someone along side me, I would pop in "Wooly Bully" and get ready for the light to change. "Uno dos one two tres quatro," and I was totally lost in that song. I'd blow down the street, foot to the floor and shifting like a wild man. I have to give "Wooly Bully" the credit for my wins that greatly outnumbered the few times that I was outclassed.

Cut to the present . . .

My family and I just returned from two weeks in Mexico. We spent a week in Cancun and a week on Cozumel. At our hotel on Cozumel there was a group of wonderful people celebrating their 50th high school reunion. One night at dinner I noticed a man, from the group, wearing a T-shirt that said on the back: "Growing Old and Rock and Roll are not for the Faint of Heart." And below that saying was a website address: www.samthesham.com. On the front it said "Sam the Sham." I jumped up from our dinner table and rushed over to him to ask where I could get a T-shirt like the one he was wearing. The guy next to him Said, "That's him." I couldn't believe that I was meeting Sam the Sham. It was a great moment for me. We talked and I told him the story about racing with "Wooly Bully." He was great and asked me to send the story to his website. Before I returned to my family, I couldn't help myself; I had to hug Sam. He was a great hugger and a very gracious man.

The next morning I ran into Sam again while we were having breakfast. I introduced him to my family and he introduced us to his wife. They area a wonderful couple. They had a very peaceful way about them. We felt very calm and peaceful just being around them. They asked me about my "I Love My Wife" button and I told them the story. I gave them each a button. She immediately put on her "I Love My Husband" button and Sam put on his "I Love My Wife" button. They are a very spiritual couple. Sam had had a very difficult life but you wouldn't know it by the Peace of Mind way he lives his life now. The last thing he said to me and my family was, "God Bless You."

A couple of years ago I bought a PT Cruiser because it reminded me of my first street rod that ran to the sound of "Wooly Bully." I don't have a record player that plays 45's but the CD player in the PT does a fine job of bringing back those "Wooly Bully" memories.

 John McCarthy