Want to get on track? The first step is just taking that first step.

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“All water has a past and all sewage has a future.”

Those deep thoughts–and we’ll get back to them in a minute–came from a commencement speech this past spring. Picture proud parents, nervous students, and the usual pomp and circumstance. For all those involved, the joy of a task completed met an uncertain horizon. 

The speaker, though, wasn’t one of the usual suspects. It wasn’t an astronaut who overcame a health issue to score a seat in a shuttle, a CEO who grew a mom and pop into a Fortune 500 company, or a sportsball hero born on the wrong side of the tracks.

Not quite. Those words came from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. And it was a virtual address delivered by a viral (semiviral?) tweet, since the public works wasn’t invited to speak anywhere in person. 

As usual, though, don’t discount the source of the wisdom. When Taco Bell tweeted that Mexican Pizzas would return once supplies were replenished, the Ohio utility was there with a quick reply: We’ll be ready. 

I like that dedication to the task at hand. And yes, everyone poops. My dog excels at it, and I’m actually a little jealous of her regularity. 

But back to that line at the top of the page: We’re all works in progress, and we all have a future. (Well, positive thoughts, okay?)

We hear a lot of questions involving the future. How to become a professional race car driver. How to get more involved in the sport. Or, God forbid, how to become a magazine editor.

The short answer: Do it. 

That advice comes from a dude who’s way more engaging and charismatic than I’ll ever be and has been “living the dream” for decades, and I put that in quotes because I once got to tour a band’s bus–never meet your heroes. 

But that “do it” comes from Angelo Moore, singer, saxophonist, poet, artist and frontman for ska/punk/funk/reggae/etc. institution Fishbone. If you’re of a certain age, you might remember them from back in the day. 

I recently met him during an art gallery opening an hour north of us in beautiful Jacksonville Beach. It was his first exhibition. After nearly four decades in the music biz, about six years ago he branched out into mixed media on canvas. As he explained to plebs like me, he decided to just do it. 

Go be that rock star, be that artist, be that race car driver. And if the Garden, the Guggenheim or the Indy 500 is out of the cards, find a local karaoke bar, a smaller gallery or an SCCA autocross. (Angelo still does karaoke, he says, to keep himself grounded.)

Just. Go. Do. It. 

You want to get behind the wheel? Start taking those steps. Back in the day, you had to know the secret handshake. Today, pick your entry point: autocross, track day, low-buck enduro, whatever. Already know the drill but have a friend who’s interested? Take them along. 

I might never be as good a mechanic as some other names on the masthead, but I can almost fake it okay because, again, the first step is just taking that first step. After nearly 20 years of service, the carburetor on our mower recently threw in the towel. I considered just dumping the mower but realized that it had zero value in INOP condition. So I spent $20 for a new carb; after surgery, the mower fired up on the first pull. 

The last Monday of the month, I usually make the hourlong drive to downtown Orlando for the Orlando Roadsters get-together at Ace Cafe. Picture a few dozen Miatas and their owners just hanging out in a parking lot, with the evening’s passage marked by the sun’s setting behind I-4.

The cars cover all the usual food groups: forced induction, Honda swaps, autocross regulars, full-on drift cars. Influences come from Japan to traditional low-riders. You’ll see new fusions of a longtime favorite–and perhaps an old-school Jackson Racing supercharger in the mix. A lot of cars have a bit of work in them–time and money, sweat and tears. 

Parked in the middle of last month’s field was a red, bone-stock early car. It still wore its factory air bag steering wheel and Daisy alloys. The owner sat upon the trunk lid. 

At least for that evening, she was the rock star. Her car has a past, and I got a vibe that together they’ll have a good future.

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