Sunday, March 11, 2007

Skillman's Little Red Corvette

Compared to the extremely high visibility of Gov. Mitch Daniels, his lieutenant governor, Becky Skillman, operates in relatively obscurity. She does a lot of photo-ops and ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but we don't often hear about her political views or about her personally. A story in the Kokomo Tribune about a speech she gave at a high school summit caught my eye because it shared a side of Skillman not really known to the public. It seems she had a thing for drag racing in her younger days. The Tribune reports:

A long, distinguished career in the Indiana Senate preceded Skillman’s rise to the lieutenant governor’s office, but she didn’t hesitate to give the auditorium full of local high school students a little glimpse back to her own younger days.

According to Skillman, she had more than a passing fancy for the occasional drag race.“My first car was a 1964, cherry red, Corvette Stingray, and I knew how to drive it,” Skillman said. “The boys I raced never expected me to leave them in the dust, but many times I did.”
Skillman must have really stood out in a small town like Bedford in a red Corvette. It would have been highly unusual for any teenager to own a Corvette back then, let alone a girl. Come to think of it, it would still be unusual today. Hat tip to Brian Howey for catching this one.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The youthful Red Corvette humanizes her somewhat.

But nothing takes away her halting, irritating nasal voice pattern. Fingernails on a blackboard.

Please tell me she's not a governor-in-training.

Plus, lest someone else say it again, we traded Kathy Davis for this?

Anonymous said...

Good for her! Not ALL women want to drive minivans!

Wilson46201 said...

With a large General Motors plant in Bedford and generous employee discounts, it's not surprising expensive Corvettes would be zipping around in them thar hills...

Anonymous said...

Kathy Davis has the brains of a Daniels, the beauty of soul and spirit of Gov Kernan, and the kindness of Mother Teresa.

Davis for Governor!

Anonymous said...

She drove a red Corvette, but she didn't get a college degree. See girls, there are other ways of getting ahead.

Anonymous said...

Brian Howey reported it?
Then how can you be sure it's accurate?

Anonymous said...

no degree? Are you SERIOUS?