One small yo-yo trick for mankind.

So the not very interesting part of my night last night was peeing next to Al Unser Sr.

Here's how I got there:

For the last race of the season, Infineon raceway hosts a dinner fundraiser for a charity they work with. As Infineon's agency, we had several tickets to the event. I snagged two. Any trip to Sonoma is gasoline well burned. I invited my friend Stephanie and picked up fellow copywriter Philip and his lovely lady Violet. As we made our way to Sonoma in Juju the MINI, we were quite excited because Chuck Yeager was listed as the Grand Marshal for the IRL race the next day and we hoped he would make an appearance.

We arrived at the Jacuzzi, yes the perma-bubble bath inventers, winery fashionably late and found Jessie, account person, and Matt, her man. After meeting and thanking the President of Infineon we wandered about what could only be called an Italian estate replica complete with church and piazza. Quite picturesque. Eventually we were given our table assignment. There were at least 20, if not more. And as my delicious dinner of filet o' steak quickly disappeared, entertainment was appearing on stage. Before I go further, I should mention that Stephanie who is normally a vegetarian finished her steak before I did. Obviously, quite good.

So I was floored when Rick Mears and Al Unser were introduced and brought up on stage. There in front of me were two men who had won a combined 8 Indy 500s. They spoke about their approach to racing and what they loved about it. It was incredible to watch legendary history reflect on itself.

And then it got nuts.

The President of Infineon got back on stage and said they had a special guest they wanted to bring up. Someone who was a race fan and had called him to see if he could get tickets to the race that weekend. Under the table, my fingers were crossed for Chuck Yeager.

Nope. Neil Armstrong. The first man on the moon Neil Armstrong. The Neil Armstrong. Walks up on stage.

So Steve, the Infineon President begins to ask Neil some questions. Neil tells us that the astronauts used to have a little nip off the bottle before they would strap into the rockets. And to be quite honest, who could blame them? But he also said they would be straightened out by the time they got to the moon. Comforting. And hysterical.

Steve then asks Neil why he didn't do a stunt like Alan Shepard and hit a golf ball? Neil responds that he did do a trick but Buzz left the lens cap on the camera. He says he yo-yo'd on the moon. Seriously. He then proceeds to show us a full repertoire of yo-yo tricks. All the tricks from my Duncan yo-yo trick book that I could never ever master. Rock the cradle, Moon launch, shoot the moon, everything. And he's doing them well. So here I am in the audience watching Neil Armstrong doing yo-yo tricks from my childhood. To music. With a little shuffling dance in between tricks that made him appear like the cartoon dog Mutley. Obviously Neil was chosen for more than just his flying abilities. The man is a natural born show man.

Once this was over, the crowd clapped heartily and started to file out. I made my way over to Neil. Surprisingly, not many people did. After introducing myself, I shook his hand. He's a bit short. And obviously an incredibly funny and mischievous man. He is full of personality.

After the shock wore off, I headed for the exit and decided to duck into the bathroom. At which point, Al Unser walks in after me. There's a bit of a line and eventually Al Unser is using the stall right next to me. In my head I pondered the glance to see if his cajones are indeed made of brass, but I decided just to believe that they are. How else could he have driven that fast for that long?

Once I was back outside Stephanie decided she also wanted to meet Neil. So she and Violet went off to find him while I stood in the courtyard still in shock. Apparently he said to her, "No, no, I don't give handshakes to ladies," and offered her a hug. Which, according to Steph, went on a little longer than the standard hug and apparently included some belly rubbing. Sheer genius.

So on the way home finally, we were all in awe of the entire evening. It was beyond words. We just kept asking each other if it actually happened. Well, if it didn't then we all had the exact same very vivid dream.