Thanksgiving is Thanksliving

I view Thanksgiving a bit differently than most.

For me, it’s a time of reflection of life…and how fortunate I am to be alive in reaching my 27th birthday.

Of course, that number is on the Celsius scale and, at this stage, gives me a bit more comfort than realizing that I am 79 Fahrenheit!

We are all molded from the moment of birth, and I had three extra weeks since I was a “preemie” weighing in a little less than four pounds.

I have been molded by parents and, of course, the thousands and thousands of people I have met and listened to and enjoyed over a lifetime.

My folks weren’t very religious and taught me just to know right from wrong and have no prejudice.

In 1956, after my mom had some surgery, she had a wonderful woman by the name of Julia Redmond help her recover and we became very close.

In my grammar school graduation book, she wrote “You can judge a tree by the bark it wears and the fruit it bears, but you can’t judge a man by the skin he bares or the clothes he wears.”

THAT turned out to be my religion and it has led me down a path to cherish just about everyone.

My early influences were two men that got me interested in the races, Luke Pancratious Schroer and Warner Philip Brunson, both a half century older than I at the time I met them.

The former, a gruff, weather-beaten man approached me at a bowling alley in Chicago—misspent youth, you know—and offered me some money after I had won $15 in a “pot” game at 16 years old (which I refused) and proceeded to take me to Sportsman’s Park on August 22, 1959.

The latter, a frequent spectator at the lanes, was one of the kindest, southern gentlemen, I have ever met, and we drove together far and wide to enjoy the races—even Aurora Downs when it was below zero.

It was Luke, who had a box at Sportsman’s, who introduced me to the cast of characters, known as horsemen, and it took, roughly 2:06 4/5 for me to get, as Don Evans wrote, “Hooked on Harness Racing.”

Over those next years, I met some of the greatest—Joe O’Brien, Lou Rapone, Gene Riegle, Bob Williams, Colonel Kidwell and, of course, Curly Smart, just to name a few….and I can’t forget the Pletcher’s, the Grahams, Bob Farrington, the Burright-Hankins gang…even Edith Mouw!

Talk about Shakespeare’s Tale of Two Cities from 1859, here it was a century later and I was on my way to 10,000 stories…some tragic, yes, but so many hysterical and, some, historical.

Besides Sportsman’s Park, there was Maywood and Washington Park and I spread my wings a bit further by meeting Gene Vallandington.

In short order, I was jogging horses with Gene at Sportsman’s and Washington Park and having the time of my life with a superior horseman.

Once morning at Washington Park, I was jogging a pacer and, when we were putting him away, the horse stepped on my foot and the top of my show turned red. Gene said, “I’ll take care of it for you!” And he brought out some liniment and poured it all over my foot. I asked, “What’s this?” And he said, “It’s blue…we put it on horses when they get cuts and bruises!” The bottle was labeled, “DO NOT POUR ON OPEN WOUNDS!”

One of my favorite horses was Gene’s Battleship N…who could pace in 2:03 back then…and that was pretty darn good.

Louie Rapone was one of the best “gate men” in the business and he had some really nice horses, one of which was Pole Adios. He was a headstrong thing racing in the Invites and was so raunchy at times that he had to be trained behind a pickup truck.

Edgar Leonard was another great horseman I had the pleasure of knowing whom, I believe, had a UDRS over .500 on several occasions and, maybe, one over .600.

Of course, “Curly” (Smart) was the pinnacle in my eyes and so famous that, when I called the information operator after mixing up his phone number, she said “Curly’s number is 363-5524!” You don’t get more famous than that!

I know of no other driver in history who won a track UDRS total with .818.

Over the last 63 years, I have met the greatest—whether they wore perfectly manicured suits or rags.

I revere horsemen, especially the ones that show humility.

Knowing or having known Odell Thompson, Mike Murphy and Jimmy Mattison is/was as satisfying as knowing the Dancer’s and Haughton’s.

Spending hours upon hours having chats with Dick Baker, Frank Ervin, Joe O’Brien and Lew Williams, among so many others, will be pages in my life book that can never be torn away…Bill Weaver, too, a great influence in my life.

Back almost 50 years ago, Dave Magee (before he was famous) and I used to have lunch at the cafeteria across from Maywood Park.

More recently, David Miller and Tim Tetrick have kept in touch and, of course, Bruce Ranger.

From Bergstein to Weed Rorty and on to Phil Pikelny and Don Evans…then Dean Hoffman and Les Ford and David Dolezal, their dedication to our grand sport rubbed off on me…and continues to this very minute.

And sitting alongside Gabe Prewitt, co-hosting our Pre-Race Show at The Pomp was the absolute pinnacle for me as Gabe is the consummate professional.

Back-tracking just a bit, around 1979 or 1980, I met Mr. Steve Wolf, and we became friends—wonderful lifelong friends.

Then, in 2004, I got a call from Steve and Jim Patton asking if I would join up with them at Pompano Park. I answered, “Is there a cow in Texas?”

Thankfully, we’ve both aged a bit…and here we are…Steve at Harnesslink and I trying to contribute a bit there, as well, while on dialysis for kidney failure.

I am often asked what has been by most satisfying moment in our sport. I have to confess, it wasn’t at a racetrack but, rather, at a rehabilitation facility in Chicago.

Don Stevens from Sportsman’s Park got me some 16mm films of races which I used to promote the sport at nursing homes and rehab places, and I made programs with the patient’s names substituted for the drivers.

In one race, a stroke victim who hadn’t been able to speak for over six months was the winner and her daughter was with her. The doctors and nurses warned me that she couldn’t speak but we brought a microphone over for the daughter speak on her behalf.

It didn’t happen as planned.

The lady grabbed the mike and, when asked how she was able to drive home the winner, said her first words since her stroke…”I tried very, very hard!”

Pandemonium couldn’t describe the moment with justice.

Yes, the stroke victim spoke, and the doctors and nurses were left speechless.

The whole incident went on a CBS News Segment entitled “Someone You Should Know!”

In know I’ve missed many names, but I have been blessed with great friends like my racetrack buddy Rich Stern from Chicago and two pretty fair horsemen in their own right, Mickey McNichol and Wally Hennessey.

Mickey calls me regularly to make sure I am drinking water and Wally calls me just about every day making sure I am getting along OK.

And, finally, of course, I am blessed to have a wonderful “bride” of 36 years, Abby, and our combined extended family of two sons, three daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

That about sums it up proving THANKSGIVING is THANKSLIVING.

by John Berry, for Harnesslink