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Northwest Living: Dean understands Earnhardt's slip of the t
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Posted by nwv_admin Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:39:00 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Even though Dale Earnhart Jr. is not "my" driver, I was smiling ear to ear for him as he chalked up another hard-fought win at Talladega a few weeks back. I can't imagine how thrilling it must be to drive a 700 horsepower racecar for three hours at 190 mph and win by less than one second. His adrenaline must really have been pumping. The TV camera was shoved in his face even before he got out of his car, and he was asked, "How does it feel?" In his zeal, he let the "S" word fly, and he's had a fan in me ever since.

Don't get me wrong. I have a hard time being around someone that cusses easily -- the sign of a small mind, I've heard said. If that's all you bring to the table, we're probably not friends.

We each choose our level of exposure, so to speak, to vulgarity.

The fabricated stuff is transparent and shallow; Janet, Britney, Madonna and Paris want you to buy something. If that's your thing, there's lots out there for you. Buy the CD, book, video, pay-per-view, whatever.

I'm a radio guy and I'm the first to tell you that you'll soon find the original potty mouth Howard Stern on satellite radio -- enjoy!

Now that you know where to find the borderline content, leave the rest of us alone. The fallout from NASCAR's latest offense to humanity is just stupid with a capital "S."

Dale Junior was fined 10 grand and docked 25 points in his sport -- a stiff penalty. NBC has knee-jerked and will now have a five second delay on their NASCAR telecasts so no such horror happens again.

I sleep better knowing that whenever my 4-year-old and I tune into the new "family -friendly" NBC we won't accidentally be offended by NASCAR or "Will and Grace."

Let's not lose our heads here. It was one word, on one telecast, during one very exciting race. Let's put a network executive in the passenger seat of Dale's car and see what the microphone picks up.

I'm a new Junior fan because in context, in the moment, he was honest and pure and happy and normal and human -- just like me.

In his position, what would you have said?

"Golly, I feel really neat-o, thanks for asking" is a lie, and I don't care who you are.

If you saw it and were offended, then answer honestly: You uttered nothing "colorful" during childbirth? Right before impact in your last traffic accident? Right after a broken bone? When you learned you were going to be a parent? When you hit a deer? When you were fired?

If you didn't swear, you've never really lost, or won, or laughed or cried. If you did, you're forgiven.

Even by your grandma -- believe it or not, she's sometimes colorful, too.

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