Dispatch: Dodge City, KS

Death Race 2010 is upon us. Moments after leaving Lubbock this morning, John received the dreaded news that his mother-in-law had died at 2:00am. He knew that it was imminent and had spent hours the day before consoling Meredith as she helplessly watched her beloved mother weaken and then finally succumb to the ovarian cancer that she had battled courageously for the past eight months.

I put our assignments back into the envelope and drove John to the Amarillo International Airport, where his secretary Caroline had booked a flight so that John could return to his family. Instead of rejoining the game, I drove to our hotel in Kansas City, thinking about my own father’s fragile health. When I called to tell him that I loved him my mom explained that he had checked into the Intensive Care Unit at Monterey Community Hospital earlier that morning. My dad has been spending too much time in the ICU lately.

A State Trooper pulled in behind me right after crossing the border into Oklahoma. I checked my speed, made sure that I was not exceeding the limit and maintained a steady pace as the trooper followed closely. By the time he turned off 30-minutes later I was ready to pull over to the side of the road, raise my hands and throw myself at his mercy.

Tired of eating too many burgers and beans I went to a Mexican Restaurant run by Mexican’s after I arrived in Dodge City. Mistake! That was some of the nastiest shit that I have eaten in some time. Speaking of shit, when I mentioned that Dodge City smelled like shit I was told, “No, it smells like livestock.” I think that livestock is a sanitized definition of shit.

We ate dinner at Dodge City’s Boot Hill where they served quesadillas and fried rocky mountain oysters. I declined several offers.

I told the Fireballer’s why John had left the competition and many if not most of them expressed their condolence and prayers. Things will not be the same without him, but if any trip is truly predictable, it’s not really an adventure after all is it? I hope that John will be able to rejoin the rally when we arrive in Galena, IL on Saturday.