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Dear Smokin' Joe and other friends of Jeremy,
Since I can't make the memorial service in Florida, because of
financial reasons, I want to offer this as my memorial to a fallen
friend:
My name is Chad Zimmerman, one of Jeremy's best friends from Maryland,
and I want to "deal" with the loss of Jeremy by telling you a
little bit about the Jeremy Steiner I knew.
Jeremy and I met at St. John's at Prospect Hall High School in
Frederick, MD. We were in several classes together and we developed
a friendship, no, a bond that only ,as it seems, distance could
begin to weaken. From the first time we did anything together,
I knew right away this was going to be a lasting friendship. We
had many common interests, including racing, and we spent alot
of time together.
For a SummerJeremy lived with myself and my parents and we had
a blast!! We did just about everything within the law, and some
things, which at the time didn't seem so bad, that were outside
the laws. OH WELL, WE HAD FUN!!
That was the Jeremy Steiner I knew, anything for a good time.
While still in High School Jeremy's dad, Frank, bought a race
car that competed in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Mid Atlantic
Road Racing Series (MARRS) GT1 class, the car we had was just
like the ones seen on the Trans Am Pro Series.
Well, behind Franks great driving, Jeremy'sCrew Chiefing, mine
and some others help we won the MARRS seriesChampionship that
year. This was not Frank's first Championship as hehad won several
during the 1980's. All Jeremy ever wanted to do was race Sports
Cars!!!!!! This Championship fuels his fire and he goes looking
for a car to buy and build into a race car. As he is doing this,
the guy who owns the car also owns an enduro go-kart. Jeremy comes
back and tells me I should buy this thing and go racing. A week
later I am the proud owner of a racing go-kart capable of doing
over 100 mph's. Then one day Jeremy calls me at work and tells
me he just bought a brand new GSXR-750. I was stoked! We would
go on rides and since I didn't have a bike of my own, he'd let
me ride his.
Then one day, while we wereroommates in a townhouse, he comes
home and tells me that he is havingthe bike race wired and we're
going racing. Again, I WAS STOKED. Both of us would be racing,
but not head-to-head which has a tendancy to ruin friendships.
We both, during our first season(s) went through MASSIVE growing
pains, like we all do. This includes, first and foremost, financially.
However, if the person racing that weekend needed something, no
matter what, the other one did all he could to help the racer
to get whatever it was he needed. It worked out great. Next thing
you know we're both doing relatively well and , most of all, gaining
the respect of our fellow competitors.Then one night we're working
on our respective racing machines and he comes up with the idea
of naming ourselves as a race team. Since, unless he's changed
that much, we were both thin he comes up with "Lightweight Brothers
Racing". I love it, as it is very appropriate, and it sticks.
Then I decided to move back home with my Mom and Dad and go to
college. "Seperated but not divorced", we remain in touch and
still occasionally talk to and help each other out. But distance,
for the first time, takes it's toll on our friendship, not that
we hated each other, but he made friends in the motorcycle racing
community as did I in the go-kart community. We did, however stay
in touch every now and again. Then, he moves down to the Eastern
Shore with his Mom. Great for him, bad for us.
Then about eight months ago, I ran into his Dad and he tells me
that Jeremy moved to Florida, he's doing really well and YES he's
still racing. Which, I'm glad to hear.
Jeremy also got me involved in another sport, volleyball. We played
together for a year or two and it slowly faded in his life and
blossomed in mine. I now play, on average, six days a week and
I coach girls at a local private Catholic school much like St.
John's at Prospect Hall. I'm going back to college in the fall
and am going to be playing for the college team.
So, as you can tell Jeremy had, and is still having, a great influence
on my life. When my parents showed me the obituary I just about
fell over. I never figured Jeremy to die until he was 100 years
old, just to be better at living than the rest of the world. The
world was Jeremy's competition, in a good way, and he was always
looking for a way to not just beat it, but humiliate it at the
same time.
Since I haven't spoken to him in about three years, I'd like to
say to you his friends and colleagues: Live life fast,hard and
always, always strive to not just beat everyone else in competition,
but humiliate them at the same time. Jeremy would have wanted
it that way.
And to you my fallen friend: Since I don't race anymore, there
won't be a volleyball match I play that I won't think of you.
Thank you for being my brother, and best friend. And us two, the
Lightweight Racing brothers, will always not just win, but we
WILL humiliate them at the same time.
I LOVE YOU, REST IN PEACE and SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE.
Chad Zimmerman |