The Second Annual Everlasting Race
by Robert Chauncey
The year was 1991 and that's when the
long awaited sequel came out. That
sequel was the Second Annual Everlasting Race.
The Everlasting Race was a race from Albany, Georgia to Atlanta, Georgia
on country backroads.
This year there were some rookies
along with some old faces!
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen,
today we are starting the Second Annual Everlasting Race. Now let me introduce you to the teams: Last years fourth place finishers, the Tough
Guys, Geremy Miller and Jody Vincent, representing the animal kingdom, Cuddles
and Muffin make up the Wild Pack, the New Clowns with Ben Stalvey and Kevin
Poer, are last years third place finishers, the Brothers, Stewart and David
Brown, and finally the returning champions the Friends, Robert Johnson and
Bryan Mccoy. Now teams, on your mark,
get set, go!" Screamed the
announcer shooting off the gun to start the race.
The teams were off with the Tough
Guys taking the early lead. This year
the sponsors was Riley Campgrounds, so the teams would have to stay in tents
and sleep in sleeping bags instead of last years Nights Inn and Hotel 86.
At the first night stop, every team
had a sound sleep. Although the New Clowns wanted to play some rotten tricks,
they were watched like a hawk by the rest of the teams, so were unable to play
any tricks.
Last year's teams had to contend with
tremendous heat, but this year they had to deal with extremely cold
temperatures. It seemed the further
north they got the colder it got. This
wouldn't have been so bad, except the teams could not wear anything but their
racing outfit; a t-shirt, pair of shorts, socks, and running shoes.
One night, when it was 240
F, it began to snow. It was a hard snow and it was falling fast. It quickly covered the ground and then the
trees. It also made short work of the
tents which, when the teams woke up, were buried by the snow.
The first team to wake up and dig
their way out was the were the Wild Pack.
With their paws they dug out of their tent faster than any one
else. The next two teams to dig out
were the Friends and the Tough Guys.
The Brothers came out next and then the New Clowns came out last.
Although the Wild Pack were official members of the Everlasting Race. they
were still a dog and cat. It turns out
that they were "accidently" picked up by "Poer's Dog Catching
Service." It also happened to be
the same Dog Catching Service owned by Kevin Poer, one of the members of the
New Clowns. The Wild Pack was
immediately release, when the teams stopped in protest. What they didn't notice was the New Clowns
were passing them and taking the lead. When the teams started walking again the
New Clowns had a huge lead.
After they reached the half-way
point, the New Clowns stopped for a drink and something to eat and then they
continued on their way. The other teams
just got a glass of water and continued on their way.
Since the New Clowns had a full
stomach, they gradually became slower and slower. Although they were getting slower, it seemed like the other teams
were gradually getting faster. The New
Clowns started to take drastic measures; they turned off the road and thought
they were taking a short cut. When they
came out the Brothers were passing them.
What they didn't know at the time was the Brothers were presently in
last place.
Soon there was only a mile left in
the race, and the race was between the Friends and the Tough Guys. It became a neck and neck race. It got down to 500 yards - 400 yards - 300
yards - 200 yards - 100 yards - 50 yards, and finally the last 10 yards. The only question was who wanted it more?
With only one more step to go the
Tough Guys found one last spurt of energy and ran forward to win the Second
Annual Everlasting Race. Coming in
second was the Friends, third was the Wild Pack, fourth was the Brothers, and
in last place for the second year in a
row were the New Clowns. For some teams
this may be their last year but for most teams next year is another year and
another shot at being number one.
