In the early sixties, Jim was driving a gravel truck, and providing for his family. He worked long hours and also tinkered in the garage. His daughter, Kimberly remembers her dad was at work so much that she eagerly waited for snow days, not so she could slide with the other kids or have snowball fights and hot chocolate, but so she could ride with her dad all day while he plowed snow. Time with dad was at a premium. 

In 1960 Jim had a job helping build a 1/2 mile stretch of road on a hill about a mile off of Route 3 in Crofton Maryland.   As Jim hauled gravel, for roads and construction, he saw the area surrounding it would make a great gravel pit. The two lane road was absolutely level, and neither went or came from anywhere. To most it might appear to be a small landing strip but it was and is not.  Today it’s called “Capitol Raceway” and Jim and his family has been involved with this area institution, from the beginning as a racer, to becoming the owner and passing management on to his daughter, the little girl who waited for snow days just to spend time with him. 

In the beginning races were started with the wave of a flag, Jim built the first “Christmas tree” (a series of lights, from amber to green that signal the racer when to go) from junked car headlights in 1974.  Other family members built the first electronic timing and handicap delay boxes in their garages.  Jim spent a lot of time at the track, so, of course so did Gloria and Kim.  Kim remembers quite well the night her dad took over running the track.  She was there on her first “real date”, and was hanging out (at the track, of course) some distance away from the control/announcers tower. She remembers she kept hearing her father’s last name over the loudspeaker, which wasn’t unusual, as he was very involved with the track operations as well as racing, but she couldn’t quite make out what was being said, other than “…Cunningham ..needed  …at ..” etc.  Only the next day did she learn that it was her name being called as her dad was now running the track and needed Kim to work in the tower.  And so it began, Kim’s tenure at the track, which includes everything from a reign as “Miss capitol raceway” complete with crown and sash, to a 180 mph run down the quarter mile. Jim passed management on to Kim in 1988, simply stating, “Kim, take over”.

The track has had many improvements over the years, the new aluminum grandstands are the most visual. Handwritten time slips used to come down from the second floor of the control tower in a tube, now there is a small out building and the driver is handed a printout. The track has been resurfaced; a computerized timing and data system tracks every run. Not so noticeable, to the casual observer is the fact that the tower had a third story added about 1992. It sole purpose? Well, Kim was pregnant with her first of three children, Christine. Gloria asked Jim to add the third floor, so they would have a nursery and then play area for their grandchildren. They were all going to be there, but Gloria wanted to ensure kids could be kids as well.  Likewise an Elevator was recently added to accommodate, the newest members of the family, Christine’s daughter, a bright young girl with a 1000watt smile, Joy.

 More and more we are learning that IVH means different things to different people, but it usually stays close to FAMILY! 

Not that Jim went anywhere when Kim took over the reins. He’s very involved, the gravel pit is the family business and located on the land is Jims shops. Jim races in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) for Ford Motor Company. He races in the Pro Stock Class, cars with doors that open and at least closely resemble the Mustang or Charger they represent. His Sunday rides last about 6 seconds, reaching speeds of over 200 MPH.  He’s 73 years old and looks forward to the 2010 season, when he believes he will qualify well and WIN!  Ford Motor Company, the last American car company, is helping him accomplish that goal with engineering and parts support. And they should, as he’s been doing Research and Development for Ford for years. 

 And you can bet Gloria is still there nearly every racing night, as she has been for over forty years, welcoming the people driving in the gate to watch, to race, to enjoy. She greats many by name, she asks how their kids are, where’s their spouse tonight? etc. and they respond in kind. Next to her most nights, is her brother, Doug, taking admission and welcoming them as well.  Gloria has been on our IVH friend’s page, with a link to Capitol Raceway since I was first honored to meet her. She didn’t hesitate when I asked her makes her happy, “Doing this right here, and my family!”

You see, Capitol Raceway, is a “family”, and people come from far and wide to race, yes, but also to see the friends they have made over the years.  Walk around the pits on race day and you can easily meet people who have been racing here, not for ten or twenty years, but for FORTY years. Younger drivers have “Only” been racing 10 years, or so, having grown up, literally, at the track.  Others are there for the first time, eager to watch, or to race their pride and joy or maybe Mom’s grocery-getter(Sorry, Mom!). They come because it makes them happy! They love racing, and Capitol Raceway. Many know the entire Cunningham family. Kim has three children, Christine, Amanda and Steve; they all have or do work at the track.  Christine states it best, “The racers are my family, I’ve known them my whole life, I met my husband here, and 90% of the people at my wedding were from the track!” Many folks have a story of how they were helped in their racing by the Cunningham’s or others at the track. The track announcer, Mr. Bill Tolsen, loves racing and even more loves announcing each race from his seat in the control tower. He’s been doing this for capital Raceway for the last nine Years.  It makes him happy, and you can tell in his voice, as he announces each pass with the excitement of a person doing it for the first time.

Oh yes, it’s fun, but make no mistake this is a highly competitive, Octane charged, Adrenaline fueled event: Everyone wants their friends to do well, just not when racing against them.

The Happy faces and good time start with a smile and warm greeting from Gloria and Doug, continue thru the Pledge of Allegiance, into the  burnouts and wheel stands,  the winners and losers, every weekend from March thru mid November, as hundreds and sometimes thousands “VOTE HAPPY” in their lives.

Sour Mustard Pickles to be exact. Really, no kidding. Pickles make me happy. Not so much eating them, although I do enjoy the extreme combination of the vinegar and mustard pickles, but making them and giving them to friends and family makes me very happy, and it is definitely one of the ways I vote happy in my life.

      So what’s the big deal, right? I make pickles. So what. I give most of them away, so giving makes me happy? Again you might say, big deal.

Yes, it is a big deal to me and, well, here’s why it’s so important and why it‘s how ivotehappy :

      Its late summer 1969.  I’m riding in my grandfathers white Ford Fairlane 500 Convertible with red interior. The top was down and I remember sitting in the front seat (Seatbelt? what seatbelt?), looking over at my grandfather as he effortlessly piloted the car through the hills and turns of rural Maine. I can tell you, after all these years, that he was wearing his glasses and over them plastic safety goggles. The clear kind that are molded to fit your face and are held in place with an elastic strap.  Why was he wearing them? Well, I’m not sure, but it may very well have had something to do with the fact that the speedometer usually hovered around 80, and occasionally made an attempt to disappear past the 120 mph printed on the dash and exit under the dash completely. This was more fun than any carnival ride I had ever seen at the county fair!  Up the hills and around the corners with a slight squeal of the tires and sometimes a jerky sideways motion we went.  Immediately after one of those quick jerky motions from the back, I looked over as he corrected our path and I could see he was humming. I couldn’t hear him, of course, over the wind and the noise of the powerful V-8 engine, but I had been around him all of my whole 8 years on this earth and believe me I could tell at a glance he was humming. He ALWAYS held his chin with his hand when he hummed, if he had a hand free, and apparently, driving near sideways at 85 mph required only one hand. The straight-aways were wicked fun, as he accelerated once again, and I felt the car lift as it shifted into high gear.  Events like this, when I experienced the childhood joy of total fun and innocence with my grandfather, with no concept of danger, bring a smile to my face to this day. Every day. All too soon we slowed down and turned into a driveway. We actually had business, serious business on that day and many days like it. My Grandfather had placed some wicker baskets in the trunk and we were visiting his friends to get jars to put in the baskets.  Coffee jars, spaghetti jars all kinds of jars.  Each friend was always happy to see “Mickey” and he proudly introduced me to each one. After a short visit, we traveled along as before to the next stop.  Unless the friend was a woman and single, then we stayed a little longer, although I couldn’t figure out why he paid them so much attention…until years later. As to the driving, he once remarked that he had been around before cars, telephones, radio, and electricity and he’d drive any damn way he pleased.

      And so it went for that afternoon, and later we visited friends that had gardens, and he filled those same bushel baskets with, say it with me, little cucumbers. 

      Some time later I went to see him, as I did nearly every day, as we lived next door. He was humming in his kitchen. The house reeked of vinegar. He had jars all over his table, and a big bucket in the sink that he was mixing ingredients with an old manual egg beater. He had cucumbers stacked on every counter. I watched, as quietly as an 8 year old can, as he painstakingly placed the cucumbers he had washed into the jars. He would nearly fill each jar and then search until he found a cucumber that was “just the right size” to fill the remaining space. I remember thinking something to the effect of “What does it matter? Just fill ‘em up and be done with it”.  Then he started filling the jars with the vinegary concoction ever so carefully so as not to waste any. Again I thought “so what if you spill some, the whole house stinks already.” Gramp filled all the jars, with the cucumbers and “juice”.  He then gave me the honor of turning all 79 jars of pickles (NOW they can be called pickles) every other day for a month. I know there were 79 jars that year, not because I counted them as I turned them, but because I have read the newspaper article published that fall about his great accomplishment, complete with his picture many times over the last 40 years.  I said rural Maine, didn’t I?  Small town, big news. He was proud!

      After the required month wait, he made the same trips as before, only this time the top was up as autumn was coming. He made the same visits and left each friend with at least one jar of his pickles, and a promise to return to start the cycle over in the spring. He planned on living and doing what made him happy for some time to come!

      My grandfather was retired. He had had a stroke and I think two heart attacks at the time of this story. Yet he was full of life. He voted happy in some way nearly every day until he died at the age of 87. 

      And so, I have made pickles as often as I can for the last few years, starting about the same time this IVOTEHAPPY did. I get jars from friends and complete the same cycle of jars for pickles my grandfather did, although usually at a slightly slower speed. My house stinks of vinegar. I don’t care. My friends, who knew my grandfather and ate his pickles, are overjoyed to have them once again, as it’s been thirty years. We share memories as we make more. My newer friends enjoy them just as much, and appreciate knowing the story.

      I learned a lot from grandfather, and although he’s been gone 33 years I still learn from him. As I made my first batches of his pickles, I quickly learned that if I find the right sized cucumbers for each jar and take up as much space as I can, and if I am careful not to spill much of the liquid; 
 
Three things happen:

First I use less of the liquid in each jar so I can make more pickles and this is good because a couple of ingredients are expensive,

And secondly,

If I don’t spill the liquid it won’t get into the house and the smell of vinegar will dissipate sooner……,

And finally,

I often find myself humming while I make his pickles as I Vote Happy just as he did.

 It’s in commercials for Coke , “OPEN HAPPY”

And trident Gum’s recent ad with the happy at the end with the smile under both Ps that looks very familiar. (See our products page)    

How about Cheerios?  Yes Cheerios.  Their recent TV commercial says, “Cheerios makes little hearts HAPPY and big hearts healthy.”  Oh yeah, you saw that didn’t you?

If you’re a Music fan you might have heard of Carolina Liar? On their website , the Lead singer, Chad Wolfe writes:

“My personal philosophy on life; Don’t settle for anything less than being happy and always try to smile.”

Ok here’s a couple we received  from our own website and as you may know, we don’t print compete names because protecting your privacy is one of our HAPPY guidelines:

“Being with the right person, the one who lets me be me, that makes me happy” …Nancy 

Looking into the eyes of my foster, (soon to be adopted) child, makes me HAPPY.  This is from a mother who lost her own child in a car wreck, only to find solace and HAPPINESS in providing that love and caring for another child. Oh-oh – I think I got something in my eye, or maybe my glasses are dirty.

“In today’s economy everyone needs a little I VOTE HAPPY !”   the Waz

Oh, here’s another from TV and print ad,  Browns Honda, in Glen Burnie Maryland  told everyone in their  recent add campaign to come see them and  “BUY HAPPY!”

From The Reader’s Digest, August 2009 edition, page 12, and from the WASHINGTON TIMES , July 26 section E , is the story of Matt Crawford, who gave up his executive position to operate a small repair shop, wrote the “surprise best seller ”Shop class as Soulcraft” reading either or both articles will give a strong sense that Matt is doing what makes him HAPPY !

From The same Reader’s Digest,  “Advice to live by ” begins on page 80, and on page 99 is a full page dediated to “How to get HAPPY”.  Well, here at IVH we say VOTE, VOTEHAPPY in your life, whatever it is that makes you HAPPY.

What about you? If your reading this there’s a good chance you have something (s) in your life where you VOTE HAPPY!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! WE WANT TO PUT YOUR PICTURE ON THIS WEBSITE!      How?

Well, just purchase a sticker from the site, ( You may Accidently get more than one, it makes me happy to double peoples order, especially  if they mention they read this blog, hint,  hint) and have someone take a digital photo of you or you and your group doing what makes you HAPPY.  E-mail it to us and with your story of how you vote HAPPY in your life! We will take it from there!  And please realize that by doing so you are affecting others, perhaps opening their eyes to a possibility for them. Maybe its not what your doing that makes you HAPPY, but the fact that you ARE doing something to VOTE HAPPY in your life.  

And that’s pretty cool, don’t you think? 

Ok next time I’m going to introduce some new IVH products and whatever else I assign to myself, as long as it makes me HAPPY.

Until then remember we want to hear from you!    Just vote or e-mail what makes you happy! 

I have found that it’s often the people you meet along the way that encourage and enrich you the most.  I’ll introduce you to some of them next…

I had to make some changes in my own life that were painful but necessary. We’ve all been there, and I don’t want to cast any bad vibes about so I’ll leave the details out. Once I had accepted and completed the necessary changes in my life I met a wonderful person who shared this philosophy and her passion for all that life has to offer equals or exceeds my own – it was a meeting of the minds that would fuel my passion to spread happiness to everyone that I could reach.   Our discussions about the concept of IVH led to the core questions of – “Is this too much? Too Grandiose?” – we both decided rapidly that this was a goal worth undertaking.  

After this, I talked with anyone who would listen, and although most “got it” it was suggested more than once that I develop some sort of tactile, article ( big words for —a thing, something to look at).  We added to the original doodle, deciding I should develop  T-shirts , and sell them at a fair price. On a flight home from Maine, I drew up a “ 5 year business plan” that included T-shirts and a website, and set off to pursue it. In my mind at that point I had a website, products, an appearance on OPRAH, and dozens of IVH products were available everywhere!  I figured this ought to take about a year to be popular throughout the good ole USA…alas, with all things in life that are truly worthwhile, time and sweat are required to make a dream into reality.  And gradually, the road ahead became clear…

I was at a place in my life where I felt like I was doing everything “right”, and yet I felt incomplete, and pretty unhappy. Others, who I seemed to be making happy thought I ought to be ecstatic, after all, they were pretty happy with the arrangement. I was told that I was being selfish to want to do the things I had enjoyed for some time and should happily forgo ALL of them for the greater good of everyone else. I came to the realization that I was giving in to get along. As time went on, I became painfully aware that I was losing my identity – the things that make me…well,me.

During some time away from that situation, I spent a brief spell with my sister to decompress and figure out my next move.  I described how I felt and summarized my feeling with the simple statement, “I am just not happy, my current situation does not work for me…I need to change something.”  My sister looked at me and said, with ultimate – crystal – clarity, “ Whatever’s  going on that I am involved in, if I have a vote,  I vote for whatever makes ME the happiest.  Because, if I am happy then I can spread this happiness to everyone around me – including those that I care about most.”  This conversation occurred in December of 2007.  It didn’t take long for this idea to take root and start growing into a life changing  statement, adaptable to everyone in every situation, “I VOTE HAPPY!”

And why not? It’s a totally POSITIVE concept. I wasn’t being selfish, to want to do something for ME that makes ME happy.  Quite the opposite, in fact. Some time spent doing my favorite hobby or activity pays tremendous dividends to not just me but to practically everyone I come into contact with. You see, when I do what makes me happy, then this personal happiness will spread and everyone benefits. Think about how you feel after you do what makes yo happy, whatever it is. You undoubtedly have a great positive attitude that makes even the most mundane chores of daily life seem insignificant and are accomplished with ease which allows you to move on and accomplish the truly important quests in your life.

That’s it for this install, up next……………..Applying “I VOTE HAPPY” to your life!