When it rains, it pours! 
There is a nice piece on our famous Studebaker Drag Racer Ted Harbit in the new Ball State University Alumni Magazine. I haven't seen it yet, but my brother Stan, a Ball State Alumnus, has seen it [^] and told me it's just out. Ted graduated in '56 (or '57; I forget which) from what was then Ball State Teachers College in Muncie IN. [8D]Maybe 6 or 7 years ago, I went to Muncie to buy a late-model Dodge truck (for resale) from a white-collar-type-guy who said he worked in the Ball State Univ. Alumni Office as some type of writer for their magazine. [:I] I said, "Boy, there's an interesting story waiting to be told about a notable Ball State Alum who has raced an old Studebaker for almost 50 years, now, right in this area." [:0] The guy seemed genuinely interested in the story, so when I came to pick up the truck the next day, I left him a copy of the March 1996 Turning Wheels, with the big feature-length biography of Ted I had done for that issue.
He thanked me and that was the end of that. Nothing ever came of it. [V]
About a year ago, after probably five years had elapsed, I got an e-mail from a name and address I did not recognize, and almost didn't open it. Something in the address jarred my memory a bit, though; just enough to open the e-mail. 'Turns out it was this same guy, who wanted me to refresh his memory as to "Who was that Ball State Alum you told me about awhile back who raced that old Studebaker?" I again gave him the info on how to contact Ted and I see they finally got around to running something. [
]Sheesh! I'm glad they got it in print while Ted was still around to see it! I'll see if it is available on line and if so, will make an additional post of it.
Update: Brother Stan says it is in the January 2007 Ball State Alumnus Magazine and is "just a photo and a couple sentences." Hey, we'll take that! Unfortunately, however, the most recent Ball State Alumnus Magazine on their website is November 2006.
Congrats again, Ted.
BP
We've got to quit saying, 
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