GOODGUYS GAZETTE DUMPS LANDSPEED LOUISE
IT WAS AN ODD, YET UNQUESTIONABLY PUZZLING WAY THAT I DISCOVERED I HAD BEEN FIRED. WHEN THE JANUARY 2015 GOODGUYS GAZETTE ARRIVED AND MY NAME WAS GONE FROM THE MASTHEAD, A SPOT IT BEEN FOR MORE THAN 12 YEARS, I FINALLY GOT THE MESSAGE. MY FUEL FOR THOUGHT COLUMN AND THE OCCASIONAL SPECIAL FEATURES AND PHOTOS WERE HISTORY.
EMAILS HAD GONE UNANSWERED FOR MONTHS AND PHONE CALLS WERE NEVER RETURNED. I SHOULD BE LIVID, BUT I AM ONLY SADDENED BY THE REALITY THAT THE ONE PLACE THE LAND SPEED RACING COMMUNITY COULD COUNT ON READING SOMETHING MONTHLY ABOUT THEIR MARVELOUS MOTORSPORT IN A NATIONAL PUBLICATION WAS NO MORE.
STILL, IT WAS A VERY GOOD, 12-YEAR RUN.
“FUEL FOR THOUGHT” WAS CONSIDERED A “COLUMN” IN THE GAZETTE, BUT I TURNED IN FEATURE LENGTH ARTICLES NEARLY EVERY MONTH. COLUMNS USUALLY RUN 300 TO 500 WORDS WITHOUT ANY ART, BUT MY OFFERINGS WERE ALWAYS 1,500, SOMETIMES 2,500 WORDS, OR MORE, PLUS PHOTOS.
GOD BLESS ‘EM -- THEY PUBLISHED EVERY ONE OF THEM IN THEIR ENTIRETY. I DIDN’T THINK MY COLD DISMISSAL COULD BE ABOUT MONEY BECAUSE I HADN’T ASKED FOR ONE RAISE IN 12 YEARS.
OF THE 150 STORIES ABOUT LAND SPEED RACING FOR THE GAZETTE, A GOOD NUMBER OF MY COLUMNS WON INTERNATIONAL WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARDS FROM THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIANS (SAH), ALL AMERICAN RACING WRITERS AND BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION (AARWBA), MOTOR PRESS GUILD (MPG), INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE MEDIA COMPETITION (IAMC).
IN 2009, GOODGUYS NAMED ME “WOMAN OF THE YEAR” AND PRESENTED ME WITH A FABULOUS HAND-CRAFTED PIECE OF ART FROM ARTIST EXTRAORIDINAIRE, THE LATE BOB MCCOY.
BECAUSE SO MANY LAND SPEED RACERS, ENTHUSIASTS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS HAVE TOLD ME THE ONLY REASON THEY BECAME MEMBERS OF THE GOODGUYS WAS TO GET THE PUBLICATION THAT CONTAINED MY FUEL FOR THOUGHT COLUMN, I AM OBLIGED TO INFORM YOU OF THIS ODD AND AWKWARD DEVELOPMENT.
PERHAPS YOU HAVE COME TO VALUE MORE THAN JUST MY WRITING AND WILL CONTINUE TO SUBSCRIBE, BUT NOW YOU HAVE THE FACTS TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE.
PLEASE DON’T ASK ME FOR THE “BACK STORY” WHEN YOU SEE ME, I SIMPLY DON’T KNOW ANYMORE THAN I HAVE WRITTEN HERE. THE ONES WHO HAVE, “THE REST OF THE STORY” (TIP-O-HAT TO MR. HARVEY) ARE VP OF MEDIA TRAVIS WEEKS AND EDITOR JOHN DRUMMOND AND THEY AREN’T TALKING – TO ME AT LEAST.
