The pilot who has lived his life all alone because he can’t find people who have enough depth to enjoy meaningful conversation with them has crashed in the Sahara desert, a thousand miles from civilization.

Now he is truly alone. He has only himself to rely on to fix his broken airplane.

Do you ever feel that way—that ultimately your life is down to you?

Someone said to me recently, “When you get right down to it, no one is ever unconditionally there for us in life. When all is said and done, we are on our own. We have to rely on ourselves.”

I agree.

Not that there isn’t such a thing as unconditional love. But it isn’t something we can expect, and certainly not require, of another person.

If there is to be unconditional love in a situation, Namaste author Michael Brown explains in The Presence Process that we must bring thisunconditional love to the situation.

Michael likens unconditional love to seeking oxygen in the depths of the ocean.

If we want to breathe oxygen deep below the surface of the sea, we must take it down thereourselves.

Unless we are in touch with our own essence, being alone can be frightening—especially when we realize that ultimately there is no one we can rely on except ourselves.

But once we begin to function from our essence, we realize that all the resources we could ever require are available right in our own center.

Aloneness isn’t an isolating experience once we see it through the eyes of Presence.

Rather it’s an experience of our uniqueness within the all-encompassing oneness that’s the source of everything.

We can be lonely because we live in the illusion of isolation, or we can be alone and delighted with our own company because we are brimming with a sense of our infinite resources and unlimited capacity for fulfillment.

The crashed airman has learned to tolerate being alone, but he hasn’t yet discovered his innate capacity to bask in his uniqueness—something he’s about to begin learning from the Little Prince, who appears to the pilot at sunrise after his first night sleeping on the sand of the Sahara.

The story is going to show us that we are everything we could ever need in life. Not in our egoic self, but in our oneness with universal Presence.

Once realize this and we then bring our unconditionally loving, totally fulfilled essence to all of the situations, events, and people who cross our path.

Aloneness in this healthy, fulfilling sense is something that expands as our life goes on. It’s something we will never stop growing into.

If this is frightening to us, the sooner we look it in the eye and make peace with it the better.

In my own life I ran from aloneness for years. Now I bask in it, and it’s not only fulfilling but also what empowers me to connect meaningfully, without neediness, with others.

As the days, weeks, months, and years go by, I embrace my uniqueness and the aloneness it implies more and more fully. How about you?

I am at last learning how to be myself without needing the validation of others, without requiring their emotional support, and without turning to anyone but my own center for the wisdom I need to live a wonderfully exciting life.

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With Chuck airing its final episode this week, I’ve found myself looking back at the five years of the series and the incredibly entertaining, clever and fun times the show has offered. The blend of action, comedy, romance and pop-culture elements Chuck offers is a pretty unique one on television, and Chuck episodes stand out for so many different reasons.

Below I’ve ranked my picks for the 10 Best Chuck Episodes (keeping in mind, I haven’t seen the finale yet). I’ve reviewed every single episode of the series for IGN, and all my picks for this list received a 9 or better in their initial reviews. But I am also aware that if you were to look at the exact scores, you might find that an episode that got a 9 is ranked higher on this list than one that got a 9.5 or such – and that no, I didn’t include every episode that rated among the very highest. On that front, I’ll just say that time and perspective have led to some slight changes and re-evaluations of episodes. Though I’ll also add that when coming up with my initial thoughts for this list, I easily had more than 20 picks, and narrowing it down to 10 was tricky! Chuck, you’ve given us plenty of great TV….

While it didn’t quite make my Top 10 list, I did want to acknowledge Chuck’s great pilot episode. Pilots are often just okay – There is so much to juggle, in terms of introducing all the main characters and storylines, that it can all feel kind of jumbled. But Chuck’s pilot was confident, funny and exciting, quickly establishing the show’s world and tone. One where the danger was plentiful, but so was the witty pop-culture references. “Vicki Vale.. Vicki Vale…”

This recent episode was an extremely funny and busy one which humorously and sweetly solidified that Casey’s romantic involvement with Gertrude Verbanski would likely actually be a lasting relationship. In the midst of that, “The Kept Man” offered an especially funny Sarah, who had a lot of terrific reactions and retorts throughout the episode – including her meta mention of all the times she has to dress in skimpy outfits on missions. Plus, an amusing subplot in which Morgan tried to throw a suddenly suspicious Jeff and Lester off by having Captain Awesome pose as a spy led to a cool and surprising final moment, as the duo finally discovered the truth about their coworkers.

Plus, this episode deserves attention for hysterically showing that even John Casey can become overtaken by the cult of Downton Abbey.

With Season 1′s “The Nemesis”, Chuck began to really solidify its ongoing storylines. Having brought Bryce Larkin (future White Collar star Matt Bomer) back, this episode did a very good job weaving him into the Chuck story in a major way. The way he and Chuck’s shared geeky history — specifically the ability to speak Klingon — factored into the spy story at a key moment was a great touch.

Bryce’s presence ramped up the Chuck/Sarah drama, and this episode also marked the first time Morgan was really involved in Chuck’s spy life, albeit completely unknown to him at the time, as he got everyone out of the Buy More, via the crucial trigger word “pineapple.” Sarah, Bryce and Casey’s big fight against a group of Fulcrum agents also provided an early action highlight of the series.

What a pleasant surprise this episode was. I’ll fully admit to being incredibly wary of “The Cougars” going in, simply based on reality star Nicole Richie being cast in a notable guest star role. But not only did Richie do a good job as high school mean girl turned evil spy, Heather Chandler (this episode managed to reference two all-time classic high school movies – Heathers and Fast Times at Ridgemont High), but the story surrounding her was terrific. This was the first big spotlight episode on Sarah and her past, and it really delivered.

Yvonne Strahovski did excellent work as both the present day Sarah and her awkward, closed off teenage incarnation – while we learned some tantalizing hints about the way Sarah’s father had them constantly changing their identities. Oh, and yes… This is the episode where Sarah and Heather have a huge fight in a high school locker room shower (water pouring down on them, of course), as “Smack My Bitch Up” plays on the soundtrack. And you can’t argue with that.

As time went on, Chuck often had episodes that were designed to possibly be the series finale (more on that on the next page). Season 4 found the show’s situation more precarious than ever, which was why the title “The Cliffhanger” was pretty daring. This episode wrapped up the story of Alexei Volkoff in a satisfying manner – giving one last spotlight to Timothy Dalton, who was terrific as the sometimes scary, sometimes goofy character (and his true self, Hartley Winterbottom).

More important though was how this episode showed just how far Chuck and his friends would go to save Sarah, whose life was on the line. This was best expressed by Chuck surrendering himself to Vivian Volkoff at one point, knowing he was unlikely to make it out alive, as the ultimate proof of his willingness to sacrifice his life for Sarah’s – a scene completely sold by Zachary Levi, who is able to change from funny Chuck to genuine and emotional Chuck within a split-second. The episode’s ending included the long-awaited wedding of Chuck and Sarah, and the set up for a brand new scenario involving money from Alexei/Hartley, Chuck and company’s newfound independence from the CIA, and a brand new Intersect named Morgan Grimes. It was a jam-packed finale that wrapped a ton up, while also setting up some big new storylines, should the show continue. Thankfully, it did!

The Super DIRTcar Series is a modified racing series in the United States. It races primarily in the Northeastern United States with a few dates in the Midwestern United States, Florida, and Canada. Advance Auto Parts has been the series’ title sponsor since 1999.

The series is sanctioned by World Racing Group (DIRT Motorsports Inc.). World Racing sanctions sprint car racing for the World of Outlaws, dirt late model racing in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, and 467 cubic inch big block modified racing in the Super DIRTcar Series which produce 650-800 horsepower. It sanctions over 4000 races per year under the UMP DIRTcar banner and it owns seven speedways.

Contents

1 Events

1.1 Champions

2 References

3 External links

//

Events

The premiere event in the series is the Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York. The 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 feature event (the Rite Aid 200) was televised on SPEED. The 1980 race was televised live on ESPN, the 1985 event was televised live on TNN, and the entire Super Dirt Series was televised live on Empire Sports Net from mid-1996 until late 1999. Every Super Dirt Week since 1980 has been shown on cable television. The feature event pays $ 50,000 to the winner.

Other high-profile events include; the All-Star 100 at Cayuga County Fair Speedway, which is 100 laps and pays $ 20,000 to win. Mr. Dirt Track USA which is hosted at Lebanon Valley Speedway which is 100 laps and pays $ 17,500 to win. And The Fulton 200, run at Fulton Speedway, which is 200 laps and pays $ 25,000 to win.

Champions

Gary Balough’s “Batmobile” car at the 1979 or 1980 Super DIRT week

2009 Brett Hearn

2008 Billy Decker

2007 Brett Hearn

2006 Alan Johnson

2005 Tim Fuller

2004 Gary Tomkins

2003 Alan Johnson

2002 Alan Johnson

2001 Brett Hearn

2000 Steve Paine

1999 Danny Johnson

1998 Billy Decker

1997 Danny Johnson / Brett Hearn

1996 Brett Hearn

1995 Bob McCreadie

1994 Bob McCreadie

1993 Brett Hearn

1992 Danny Johnson

1991 Doug Hoffman

1990 Brett Hearn

1989 Danny Johnson

1988 Jack Johnson

1987 Jack Johnson

1986 Charlie Rudolph

1985 Jack Johnson

1984 Jack Johnson

1983 Alan Johnson

1982 Jack Johnson

1981 Alan Johnson

1980 Jack Johnson

1979 Will Cagle

1978 Will Cagle

1977 Dave Lape

1976 Will Cagle

References

^ a b “Rite Aid Corporation Partners With World Racing Group For Premier 2008 Events in Charlotte and Syracuse”. The Auto Channel. http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/11/05/069653.html. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 

^ a b c d “Advance Auto Parts Partners with World Racing Group’s Super DIRTcar Series For 10th Consecutive Season”. Business Wire. 2007-11-19. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_n21108430. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 

^ “UMP Gets Showcase Event”. National Speed Sport News. http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/racing-news/dirt/other-dirt-series/ump-gets-showcase-event. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 

^ “Corporate America Shares in the Success of World Racing Group’s Super DIRT Week XXXVI and UMP DIRTcar Championships”. Business Wire. 2007-10-11. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_n27405054. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 

^ “Mr. DIRTcar big-block Modified point champions: 1976-2006″. Super DIRTcar Series. http://www.superdirtcarseries.com/history.aspx. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 

External links

Official website

Series history at official website

Categories: Stock car racing series in the United States