May 2014
The day started as many do
I ran up the hill of the grounds
I'd lept from bed, in fear and dread
that I would be late to the Downs
We had so many horses then
thirty one as I now recall
Only two men, to jog back then
rushed to finish before the squall
We had eight horses in that night
each hurried to finish in time
We'd bathed them all, cleaned each ones stall
life was hard back then in my prime
The rain was roiling from the west
black clouds had portended a storm
All were ready, stout and steady
for us this was just the norm
On that night between the races
I spoke with an old friend of mine
he the toughest, and the roughest
of all the horsemen you could find
His dad named him Elmer Conrad
he was a product of the old school
At eighty four, or maybe more
this young man thought he was so cool
As the oldest racing driver
I must admit he held great sway
In him I'd found, a lonesome sound
as he'd outlived all from his day
One night Elmer had caused a wreck
his temper puffed a powder keg
There on the ground, a cracking sound
he lay picking bones from his leg
But this night he drove his rig home
it was late and the roads were wet
He'd had bad luck, and wrecked the truck
I'm sure he blew it off, "no sweat"
That was the last I saw of him
his child thought him too old to drive
With no great ease, took Elmers keys
and with that his desire to thrive
Elmer hung himself in the barn
beside the home his father built
I wonder now, if it somehow
had left his child bereft of guilt
Next day I heard my hero died
where-bye we'd lost a man so great
Scrawled on a note, that he had wrote
"I am the Master of my Fate"
He treated me as if his own
and for that I honor him too
By eighty four, he had done more
than any man I had ever knew
He was the last great gentleman
I had known of four and four score
There died our best, eternal rest
they don't make those men anymore
Tate
I ran up the hill of the grounds
I'd lept from bed, in fear and dread
that I would be late to the Downs
We had so many horses then
thirty one as I now recall
Only two men, to jog back then
rushed to finish before the squall
We had eight horses in that night
each hurried to finish in time
We'd bathed them all, cleaned each ones stall
life was hard back then in my prime
The rain was roiling from the west
black clouds had portended a storm
All were ready, stout and steady
for us this was just the norm
On that night between the races
I spoke with an old friend of mine
he the toughest, and the roughest
of all the horsemen you could find
His dad named him Elmer Conrad
he was a product of the old school
At eighty four, or maybe more
this young man thought he was so cool
As the oldest racing driver
I must admit he held great sway
In him I'd found, a lonesome sound
as he'd outlived all from his day
One night Elmer had caused a wreck
his temper puffed a powder keg
There on the ground, a cracking sound
he lay picking bones from his leg
But this night he drove his rig home
it was late and the roads were wet
He'd had bad luck, and wrecked the truck
I'm sure he blew it off, "no sweat"
That was the last I saw of him
his child thought him too old to drive
With no great ease, took Elmers keys
and with that his desire to thrive
Elmer hung himself in the barn
beside the home his father built
I wonder now, if it somehow
had left his child bereft of guilt
Next day I heard my hero died
where-bye we'd lost a man so great
Scrawled on a note, that he had wrote
"I am the Master of my Fate"
He treated me as if his own
and for that I honor him too
By eighty four, he had done more
than any man I had ever knew
He was the last great gentleman
I had known of four and four score
There died our best, eternal rest
they don't make those men anymore
Tate
I am sure having known the Conrads that his children just wanted to keep him from harm. However men like Elmer can't be told what to do. They have led their lives by a code unlike the average man. Elmer was no average man! Elmer Conrad was a part of the track just as the history of our country. He was the constitution and conscience of us all. One time he cut ******* off with a chain saw and barely missed a beat. He played cards everyday. The old ones respected him. But I admired him. In all his years we never figured out many of the ways he had kept from us so long. The secrets he had learned followed him to the grave,as did our feelings and admiration for his spirit! As a young man I felt a little poorer for the loss of such a spirit. As if I wanted Elmer to witness my rise through the ranks and approve. Yet he would never get that chance. He had been the guest on the Carson show the year before as the oldest living Driver. I remember watching him and thinking he is so cool!
When I was real young I worked for 50 dollars a week night and day as apprenticeship 7 days a week, just to learn what I needed to survive. Those days served me well and they made a man of me. For 6 generations my family had raced horses. From that I look back with pride on those days and nights as the foundation of my character. I am not one who believes that finishing third is winning.I think we do our children a disservice by awarding them trophies for participation. It is the truth of life that excellence is the key to success. Life is meant to be hard.
I use to look at Elmer and I knew from the tip of his hat to me that he approved. He watched me work night and day. He saw with what deference I paid homage to my own father and in me I hoped he had found something of himself and the times that led to the man I was so enamored with and approved. He reminded me of my own grandfather who like Elmer was one of a kind!
May God Rest His Soul
When I was real young I worked for 50 dollars a week night and day as apprenticeship 7 days a week, just to learn what I needed to survive. Those days served me well and they made a man of me. For 6 generations my family had raced horses. From that I look back with pride on those days and nights as the foundation of my character. I am not one who believes that finishing third is winning.I think we do our children a disservice by awarding them trophies for participation. It is the truth of life that excellence is the key to success. Life is meant to be hard.
I use to look at Elmer and I knew from the tip of his hat to me that he approved. He watched me work night and day. He saw with what deference I paid homage to my own father and in me I hoped he had found something of himself and the times that led to the man I was so enamored with and approved. He reminded me of my own grandfather who like Elmer was one of a kind!
May God Rest His Soul
