- This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 7 months ago by
Nicole.
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- April 15, 2001 at 12:00 am #4903
Dan31654ParticipantThere’s a suburb of Orlando, Winter Garden, where I’ve noticed a disproportionately large number of Dale Earnhardt memorials – big number 3s painted on garage doors and inside windows, displays across the back windows of cars and trucks, and memorial t-shirts and caps as a local uniform of sorts. Why the extreme reverence to Earnhardt? Are there other towns in the United States where it seems like all the residents have joined the ‘Church of Dale Earnhardt of Latter Day Saints’ en masse?
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Name : Dan31654, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Orlando, State : FL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,February 12, 2007 at 12:00 am #32883
NicoleParticipantYea! I noticed that too! They’ve even got ‘Memorial Funds’ set up for Earnhardt at local banks. I can’ believe it! The man was a millionaire! I had a really hard time empathizing with those who went to prayer gatherings and vigils to mourn the loss of The Intimidator. Don’t get me wrong, I think it was a tragic loss and I hope that his wife and children are able to find closure in their time of grief. However, people crying in the streets and parades and protests and vigils and all that is a little unnecessary. I mean, really, did they know the man? No, they didn’t. They knew him from what they saw on TV and at the races.
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Name : Nicole, Gender : F, Race : black and white, Age : 24, City : Virginia Beach, State : VA, Country : United States,February 21, 2007 at 12:00 am #14533
Augustine23632ParticipantSomeone who does not live in the South does not realize the place of NASCAR in Southern culture. (Orlando is not really Southern; ‘the South’ seems to stop somewhere between Gainesville and Ocala.) True, NASCAR has a following throughout the country, but the South is its epicenter. While I am not a NASCAR fan, I know many people who are and I respect this. For NASCAR fans, this was akin to ‘remembering where you were when Kennedy was shot’. For what it’s worth, I was driving between Pensacola and Tallahassee when I heard the news, and the next day, coming back north on Interstate 95, there was this steady progression of RVs and cars with tributes to ‘3’ hastily painted on the windows. It was not unlike a bizarre 300-mile-long funeral procession.
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Name : Augustine23632, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, - AuthorPosts
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