Stood up by Evel Knievel
A couple of weeks ago on History Channel, a 34 year-old motorcycle daredevil named Travis Pastrana successfully bested three record jumps previously held by the great Evel Knievel.
I think trying to be “Evel Knievel The Second” would be much like trying to be “Elvis Presley The Second.”
Let’s applaud what you’ve done, but a second candle to a guy like Evel or Elvis is still a second candle. There can only be one original.
In December 1978, I was invited to be the fourth for a quick golf trip to California (my first) between Christmas and New Year’s.
I asked for permission to go and was reminded that our son’s first birthday was Dec. 31.
So, my wife said I could go, but I’d better be back for Cameron’s birthday celebration, or else. I think she said something about broken legs; I’ve forgotten exactly how it went.
The night before we were to leave, one of the guys had to bail. We phoned everybody we knew, but couldn’t find a fourth. So, we went as a threesome. We got an incredible deal for three rounds of golf at Lacosta Resort and Spa, a very expensive PGA Tour stop.
Our first day, it poured, and they closed the golf course. The next day it rained in the morning, but they assured us they would get us out in the afternoon. When we drove into the course for our afternoon round, it was still raining. There was only one car in the parking lot and I recognized it immediately. It was Evel Knievel’s Stutz-Bearcat convertible.
The pro told us he was inserting Evel into our threesome. Man, was I excited. We had to wait quite a while for the rain to stop and when we finally were cleared to go, Evel was a no-show. Bummer.
I only remember two groups on the golf course that day; us, and the group ahead of us, with Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, comedian Phil Harris, singer Glen Campbell and Teamsters boss Frank Fitzsimmons.
The starter called us over and suggested we give that group a wide berth.
I’ll never forget Fitzsimmons driving down the fairways with two big goons walking alongside him.
Just a footnote on the guy who stood us up. Evel Knievel (real first name, Robert) had two great failures; his jump over the fountains at Caesar’s Palace and the rocket-ride over the Snake River Canyon. That one was cut short when his parachute opened prematurely. The Caesar’s Palace one landed him in hospital, unconscious, for a month. He underwent 15 major surgeries in his lifetime and died of an incurable lung disease in 2007. He was 69.
Fred Trainor is a retired broadcaster living in Okanagan Falls. Fred Trainor@shaw.ca.