True Story Tuesday - Are you the Official Photographer

Last week I wrote about my brother and his
BMX racing days and how I met lots of neat guys
through his racing. Told about how I wrecked my ten speed
and flew over the handle bars while riding with this racer
that popped wheelies and jumped berms all the time.

Next I will tell you about the guy I met while at a race in
Orlando, Fla. This guy was a total cutie/ hottie with a head
full of brown messy curls and a personality to go with the looks.
Of course I was not thinking all this at the time of
the meeting. This guys name was Sal Zeuner.

Sal

I will never forget our first meeting for several reasons.
First, I was not at all impressed by him and second,
my first opinion was totally off base.

So with that said I must get on with my story. My Mom,
Mark (brother) and I drove to Orlando (first time
to go to Fla. and not anywhere around the beach)
for a race. I was 18 years old and I love going to
watch my brother race.

Guys were all over the place on bikes, riding
here, jumping this and stirring up a lot of dust.
I was on the side lines with my POCKET camera,
you know the ones from the 70's that were long and
slim so that you could slip them into a pocket.
Anyway, here I was taking pictures of my
brother going around the track when all of a
sudden this guy walks over and ask me if I
was the official photographer. My first thought
was, "wow, what a line that was!" Here I was
thinking, "right, I have this little bitty camera
and I am the official photographer!"

He stood there and we talked for a bit. He asked me if
I liked to dance and the next thing I knew, he was
asking me out, asking me to go dancing that evening.
I did not know this guy from Adam so I was not
agreeing to this but I told him I had to check and
see what my Mom and brother had planned and
I would get back with him.
He no more walked away when my brother came
flying over wanting to know if I knew who I was
talking to. He proceeded to tell me that I was talking
to Sal Zeuner, the fastest guy on the East Coast. He
was known as the King of the East Coast in BMX.
Okay, that was sounding impressing. Mark
reassured me that going out with Sal would
be just fine, I would be safe and then to my
surprise my Mom agreed to it also.
Sal was staying on the other side of town but
he drove over to pick me up and we went back
to a lounge in the motel where he was staying.
I met several other racers and we danced and
had a great time. I also met Terry, Sal's racing
brother. Had a really great time and I learned
then that Sal was a really nice guy.
Sal and I stayed in touch. Terry and him actually
came to our house and stayed for about a week
while they toured the races around the Nashville
area. Mom set them up in the den. Terry and
Mark hung around together and Sal and I
spent a lot of time together.
I was even to go to New Jersey (where Sal was
from) during the winter (I was 19 then) but Sal
got a job at a magazine in Ca. so we put it off.
He got tied up and I got married. We lost contact.
After 9-11, I became worried about Sal and
his family. I did not know if Sal was working
in New York or where he was, but it was close
enough to Jersey that I worried. Via the internet
I was able to locate Sal's uncle and he gave
me his number. We talked several times but
with life being so busy for us both, that was not
long lived.
This past spring Sal contacted my Mom. He has
lost my number. We have spoken a few times
since then. He says he wants to come to visit
the family and he has even asked me to visit
in Jersey. It would be really nice to reconnect
with him and see him again since it has been
31 years.
We will see how it goes.
Thanks for stopping,
Pam

Comments

Pam D said…
OK, so that is one of the best lines I may have heard. And yes, I would have been head over heels with that face when I was 18! So is he on Facebook? You need to friend him! Just sayin'....
That would be great if you could reconnect with him!
Rachel said…
First you, then PamD totally had me cracking up!

Love his line - because I totally remember those cameras, too!

And funny about your brother being excited for your date!

Thanks for sharing - it's always fun to look back, right?
Darla M Sands said…
Oh, Pam, his life story intrigued me so much I did a search via Bing and found this blog post(!), a bittersweet read for sure. ~hugs~ I'm again so very sorry for your heartbreak.

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