> How about a listing of which famous persons we know?
> I know the leader of the Finnish Environmental Party (Greens), who was also formerly Minister of Public Services in the Finnish government.
> I also know 3 out of 4 members of a very famous Finnish band.
> As for people who people outside Finland have ever heard about, I think I'm out of luck here.

I just had a second thought about famous people I know. I have been a stock car fan for over a half century and as such, I have gotten to know a lot of people in the sport very well. That would include Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon for example. I actually met Gordon briefly once, but I am sure he wouldn't remember me. The others are people that I have seen constantly on television and have read about in the papers week after week. I know about their families, and even their interests outside racing.

As you may have guessed, all of this is leading up to the tragic accident that claimed ten lives this past weekend. The Hendrix Motor Sports plane crashed in Virginia. Rick Hendrix, the head man, was not on board, but he lost a brother, son and two nieces, plus several friends and employees.

I heard about it just moments after Sunday's race ended, and I remember turning to my wife and saying that Ricky and John were likely on that plane. Sadly, I was correct.

This is not the first tragedy for that family. "Poppa Joe," the father of Rick died in July. Recently Rick himself fought a life threatening blood disorder and has appearently won that fight. While he was out of commission, his younger brother, John, ran the business and Ricky, who was about 24 was likely to have taken over someday. Like the Pettys, the Jarretts, the Labontes and the Waltrips, the Hendrix family is often described as "nice people." That makes it all the more tragic.

If there is good news in all of this, it must be the fact that Rick missed the trip because of a cold and his friend, Felix Sabates also canceled out at the last minute.
Howard