“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.”- Walt Whitman

 

May 26, 2022
 

“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.”- Walt Whitman

As much as I love attending the Indy 500 and the entire month of May in Indianapolis, what makes it truly special is the time I get to spend with friends while I am there. Old and new, the friendships that I have with so many people in the city that I called home for half of my life, remain a major reason that I so much love to return year after year.

This year I wanted to check in on a friend and former classmate of mine from the cathedral High School class of 1982 who has just released a new book. I new right where to find him as he has been working for years at the very school we attended back in the day.

Kenny Barlow and I have been friends since we met in freshman year and I followed his exciting career as he starred at CHS, then at Notre Dame and finally enjoying a long and successful professional career playing basketball overseas. His new book, “First Round Pick; The Path Least Chosen” documents this career and his personal choice to forgo the money and fame of signing with an NBA team and choosing a different path. He remains the only first round pick in NBA history to voluntarily not sign a contract to play.

He is as grounded, intelligent and fascinating a person as I have the good fortune to know,and I spent a fast moving few hours in his office catching up. I wish I lived closer so that I could spend more time with this man, it is truly a joy and a blessing to share intelligent, thoughtful conversation of any number of subjects. Check his book out if you want to read a fascinating story.

I spent a lot of time at the Speedway with friends as well. My friends Brent, Tammy, Jordan and the crew at the Suite make each May an absolute pleasure. It is almost like they become my family during the month as I certainly spend more time with them as I do anyone else during the month. They make hanging out a pleasure even when there is no activity on the track.

I had the good fortune and surprise to walk into the suite one day to find Indiana based singer-songwriter Clayton Anderson and his band playing in the suite. I had literally been on the beach in Key West a week previously with Clayton as he was one of the featured performers at the Key West Songwriters Festival. 

He was playing on one of the rain-out days and it entertained the folks in the suite and even a couple of drivers, Jack Harvey and Marcus Ericsson came up to hang out. Marcus and midget car driver Maria Cofer both actually sang with the band, which was really fun.

I took in my annual visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum as well, though I am pretty sure that I will be visiting again when my friends from Key West arrive to attend the race, I always like to check out the new displays on my own, so I can take the time to really explore the exhibits in detail. There were two new exhibits, one on the evolution of the cars in the race and the other on Speedway traditions.

https://claytonandersonofficial.com/