[gjcomb]

I had the opportunity to meet Carroll Shelby twice; well, both times were by accident!

The first time was when my wife and I traveled to Los Angeles to attend a CHP 11-99 Foundation dinner that was held at the L.A. Petersen museum in early 2000-2001. The place was packed with some great drivers and contributors to the sport and ol' Shelby was right in the middle of this group.

My wife must've seen my gaping mouth open with saliva dripping down (no, I wasn't tipsy from drinking wine) while looking at all these great racing personalities there, and she commented "Do you want an autograph from Carroll Shelby"?! I, of course, said "sure, but there is no way I'm gonna even get close to the guy". Then she says - no problem! Sure enough, my wife grabs my hand, goes around a few tables and goes right up to Mr. Shelby and introduces herself and I. I stepped back briefly to gather my thoughts since I was tongue-tied and could not get a word to come out. I also could not hear what was being discussed given all the other noise and conversations going on, but after she shakes his hand, both Mr. Shelby and her are laughing and talking as if they've known each other for a long time. Mary does get his autograph and Mr. Shelby has to get a kiss in return!! A few moments later, she is back with Mr. Shelby's signature on the evening's program and a napkin.

I was definitely curious, and so I asked Mary how she got Mr. Shelby to smile and chat as he did. She said it was nothing, really - she mentioned to him that she was the administrator to Dr. Mendez, the founder for the Kidney & Pancreas Transplant Center Foundation in Los Angeles, and that Dr. Mendez sent his greetings and hoped he was doing well. Dr. Mendez was the surgeon who performed Mr. Shelby's kidney transplant some years earlier; Dr. Mendez and his twin brother were the pioneering doctors who performed kidney transplant procedures that are commonplace worldwide today.

The second time was a few years ago when a buddy of mine and I went to DenBeste's Motorsports in Windsor, CA for a NorCal Shelby function and also to buy a couple of bottles of wine labeled under the Shelby name - Andy had his Samoan Husky there and after walking around the area for a while, began to get a little feisty. I moved away for a moment to check out a few cars that were on display in the front parking lot; in the meantime, I saw through the side of my eye this older individual stop by and start talking to Andy while also petting his dog. Of course, I kinda shuffled over to listen to them talk, not even thinking or recognizing that it was Mr. Shelby himself who went on and on about dogs and how great they are. My friend mentioned something about calling his dog Shelby, and it still never hit me that it was Shelby himself talking to my friend. I happen to say "hello" and smile, and then he moved on and walked into the warehouse where the Shelby cars and wine bottles were at. My friend kept asking me "know who that was?" and I gave that blank look until he mentioned his name...

I also had the opportunity to have my dash signed by Mr. Shelby - the interesting experience was with my dash when I had left it at the Shelby booth for signature in Fontana (during a SAAC meet at Fontana Raceway). Back then, it was $25 (or a little more - can't remember now) for Shelby to sign your item. The young lady handling the booth mentioned that Shelby was not going to be available for signatures, but all items would be signed and sent back to their owners. So, I left my dash there and waited like a little kid for my stuff to return. 3 weeks later, my dash shows up, but the Carroll Shelby's name in upside down. Somehow, I guess he thought the bottom of the Cobra dash being straight was supposed to be up and the curve side down. When I called Gardena to mention the error, the lady remembered me and my dash (I was the only guy who brought his dash for signature!) and this was corrected. I did not have to pay for freight.

Mr. Carroll Shelby will be missed by all of us...I am sadden this day has come.

George