A friend takes the checkered flag in life...

Over a year ago, I met an old lady at my work in the university booksale. She was a professor in French and she loved to talk with young people. Her job was coming to University College once every week or so and looking at the French books that were donated to the college and price them. I was introduced to her one day when I was asked to help her price some books because of a bad wrist. No problem.

As we were pricing one day last year, she told me of her life when she was younger in France. Last year, naturally, Renault, the fabled French F1 team, were winning and I told her about the team. She told me of her dreams to be a racing driver in Formula 1 when she was younger. She told me of the day she went to try out for a French team, which would eventually become Renault. The mechanics would put her through oil slicks, water and other obstacles in the tryout. It was truly an adventure that she went through. She passed the tryout with flying colours. There was however, one small problem, she was a woman, and she would eventually get married to start a family, therefore she wouldn't have much of a racing career, 5 years at most. Because of that minor issue, she was not able to race because the team would not get their money's worth through training.

Marie went on to become a professor in French, and retire, but I don't think that desire to race, even as she was in the final year of her life, would retire from her mind and heart. In the brief time I knew her, I always had the feeling that she was regretting that she did not continue to prove herself a racer. Sometimes it takes a woman to do a man's job, and Marie certainly was out to prove that, but she was prevented. I hope that in heaven, she is racing with the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, Alberto Ascari and Richard "Dick" Seaman. RIP.