During the Puyallup Fair this September 22nd to the 24th, there would be one attraction that car lovers would surely go to. This is the Back the Track weekend event and it has got the Great Western Sports, or the GWS, as one of its sponsors. If you did not know, GWS is a subsidiary of the great International Speedway Corporation. GWS would be working with the Western Washington Fair Association for this event.

During the Back the Track weekend, goers and guests would be able to feast their eyes on show cars that have been rounding other auto shows. These cars would be those that come from the national racing series. Included is the #9 Dodge Dealers and UAW Dodge Charger driven by Kasey Kahne and this vehicle has gained its popularity because it has been in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

Grant Lynch is the president of GWS and he says, “The Puyallup Fair is a major annual event in Washington, and we are proud to have partnered with such a renowned organization like the Western Washington Fair Association. The weekend gives us the opportunity to showcase some of the most popular vehicles in major motorsports today, including Enumclaw-native Kasey Kahne’s #9 UAW/Dodge. We encourage everyone to come visit our GWS information booths to learn more about our project and how you can help bring premier motorsports to the state of Washington.”

Speaking of booths, various booths would be found during the fair. That way, people could roam about and in the process learn more about motorsports, the GWS, and other products and events that show off their trade and their wares. It has not yet been confirmed though if there would be booths that would be selling vehicle products like Volvo performance parts in the said show. But there would indeed be booths were interested supporters of various petitions can sign up in favor of it. Prizes would also be given away during the show.

Kent Hojem, the manager for the whole Puyallup Fair, explains, “The Puyallup Fair is known not only for tradition, but for cutting-edge new products and activities. GWS’ Back to the Track weekend is an ideal way to educate the community about the proposed motorsports project in Kitsap County.”

What makes us trust others? Generally we tend to trust those we know well, those with actions we can predict with relative certainty and that indicate a morally healthy individual. And if we don’t know someone that well and need to get closer in a hurry, well then, there is only one method of achieving that goal: a background check.

Then what, may I ask, was the mother in the following news story thinking? How, in her mind, a man’s mechanical skills or the fact that he may have been good in bed qualified him as her daughter’s babysitter?

Here’s what happened: Kitsap County Superior Court charged a 36-year-old man from Bremerton, WA with a Level II sex offense – ongoing molestation of a 7-year-old girl whom he was babysitting. The girl’s mother met this man when he repaired her car. She apparently felt she knew him well enough to let him babysit her little daughter for three whole months. Until one day the child told her mother the man tickled her, but she wasn’t allowed to say more, or she would get in trouble.

I know, when we like someone we want to believe we can trust that person. But when it comes to the safety of your innocent child, mothers, put your fantasies aside. It’s so simple to learn more about someone before letting him infiltrate your family. Just run a quick background check, and make sure there are no criminal records in his past and no other wives and children in every state. Then, go ahead, feel good about entrusting your precious little person to someone you know deserves your trust. Anything less translates into criminal negligence. Now think about that.

There is a woman in Washington State who was married to two men. Two! My hat goes off to her, because here I can’t make a marriage work with one man, and she managed to stay married to two for five years! Must be all the breaks she took while traveling from one husband to another.

All kidding aside, this was one smooth operator. The press is silent as to the reason 39-year-old Chunbo Shen married the 76-year-old man from Kingston, WA, whom she met online. We know little about the Illinois husband, except that he exists, which also means he didn’t check public records before marriage.

The Washington husband found his wife’s joint tax return with this other husband on his computer. Now he understood all the trips she took; she must have said she was visiting family, and she was. Ironically, she was even arrested at the airport: Kitsap County has charged her with bigamy. All good things come to an end. Both husbands would make ideal ‘poster children’ for reasons to explore public records before getting married.

And that is the moral of the story, as I see it. An older American man marrying a pretty young immigrant woman should come down to earth and realize it’s not his masculine prowess she is after. I don’t mean to imply that all such relationships are corrupt, but there is a large precedent.

Before you blindly trust someone, why not build your trust on solid ground? Check out your intended’s background and verify that there is no other marriage certificate on file. While you are at it, make sure she has no civil judgments, liens or bankruptcies, or even criminal history. You can find all that information in public records.

Then you’ll at least know whether the love of your life has reasons to deceive you, or not. Romance is wonderful, but trust is earned; there is nothing wrong with protecting your interests. Better safe than sorry. How many more cliches do I need to employ to convince you?