Bill
Nitro Member
On Friday night, I was the guest of Giddings and Lewis on a meet and greet with the Force family. At 6pm, we arrived at the Force camp and were ushered to their motor home where a private area is set up for personal autographs and a chance to hear the man himself.
About 5 minutes later, John came in and said he needed to do some work so hold tight. He went out, hopped in his race car, and warmed up the engine. We were allowed to take photos as long as we stood far enough away not to interfere with the crew. Once the warm-up was completed, John came back and joined us along with his very lovely wife. John was was very engaging, just like you see him on TV although more under control and really fun. His wife is really a nice person and a joy to listen to as well.
Next came Ashley for photos and autographs. She is much thinner than she appears on TV (as is her mom, too). Once again, she was very nice but didn't stick around very long. It was time for her to go to work. Then Robert arrived. He's really a decent guy, too. He spent about 15 minutes with us. We felt we were taking up too much of their time and decided it was time to leave. On our way out, one of the crew leaders offered to take us through the trailer used as Command and Control. I counted 10 shortblocks in storage and they were for Ashley and John's cars.
Inside we also saw John Medlin, Bernie Federly, and Austin Coil at work. We were asked not to take photos but I can tell you they have a CCTV system and can see just about everything going on around their camp. They had the Weather Channel on several of the monitors plus we saw a lot of other cool things on the monitors. Also, there was another crewman building a short block in the rear of the trailer and the trailer had several machines including a lathe and a Bridgeport inside the trailer.
One thing I gained more appreciation for is the tightness of the Force team. Many are related one way or another and you can tell it's really a family team. John, his wife, daughter, and Robert are really nice people and if you ever get the chance to meet them one on one, you'll get an understanding why they are so popular. The crew members went out of their way to make us comfortable as well. What a great group of people!
About 5 minutes later, John came in and said he needed to do some work so hold tight. He went out, hopped in his race car, and warmed up the engine. We were allowed to take photos as long as we stood far enough away not to interfere with the crew. Once the warm-up was completed, John came back and joined us along with his very lovely wife. John was was very engaging, just like you see him on TV although more under control and really fun. His wife is really a nice person and a joy to listen to as well.
Next came Ashley for photos and autographs. She is much thinner than she appears on TV (as is her mom, too). Once again, she was very nice but didn't stick around very long. It was time for her to go to work. Then Robert arrived. He's really a decent guy, too. He spent about 15 minutes with us. We felt we were taking up too much of their time and decided it was time to leave. On our way out, one of the crew leaders offered to take us through the trailer used as Command and Control. I counted 10 shortblocks in storage and they were for Ashley and John's cars.
Inside we also saw John Medlin, Bernie Federly, and Austin Coil at work. We were asked not to take photos but I can tell you they have a CCTV system and can see just about everything going on around their camp. They had the Weather Channel on several of the monitors plus we saw a lot of other cool things on the monitors. Also, there was another crewman building a short block in the rear of the trailer and the trailer had several machines including a lathe and a Bridgeport inside the trailer.
One thing I gained more appreciation for is the tightness of the Force team. Many are related one way or another and you can tell it's really a family team. John, his wife, daughter, and Robert are really nice people and if you ever get the chance to meet them one on one, you'll get an understanding why they are so popular. The crew members went out of their way to make us comfortable as well. What a great group of people!
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