The passing last month of international automotive innovator Carroll Shelby rekindled memories of a grinning and grimy-faced race driver bedecked in striped coveralls who had just won a sports car race on Torrey Pines’ revamped road course. Known then only as a chicken farmer from Texas, he handled a much-used 4.5 Ferrari like the pro he would become, winning many races including the 24 hours of LeMans. But in July 1955, it was an early accomplishment, outmaneuvering the likes of Johnny von Neumann and future world champion Phil Hills before an announced crowd of 35,000. Today, the golf clubhouse lies roughly where the backstretch “S”s once were. Overall, the course measured 2.7 miles and by current standards was shockingly narrow, rough and lacking in off-course protection for spectators and competitors. Lathe fences were all that separated them from racecars. During the 1950s, he would post impressive victories at Laguna Seca and Riverside Intentional Raceway. The likable Shelby with an air of backwoods about him was bent on a career that might have taken him to the heights of a world championship or victory at Indianapolis. Driving racecars was his passion, but a heart condition forced him to abandon that career. Later, his successful ventures would include racing team owner, automotive industry consultant and safari tour operator. He soared upon the scene after he stuffed a Ford engine into a British AC Bristol and called it a Cobra. We were fortunate to have known this gregarious, upbeat guy, despite his battles with illnesses. As marketing director at the San Diego Auto Museum several years ago, I took part in his induction into its Hall of Fame. *** Retina cell research From Salk Institute we learn that E. J. Chichilnisky, a professor in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, is using multi-electrode recording (in the same way neuroscientists examine nervous system function by recording electrical activity of individual nerve cells or a small number of cells) to study the function of the retina. Chichilnisky and his team are taking such research to the next level by recording activity of hundreds of neurons at once. This step is necessary because even the simplest functions of the nervous system involve many neurons. Chichilnisky’s laboratory is focused on how the retina processes visual information and transmits this information to the brain. A key area of interest is how the cellular circuitry of the retina performs the neural computations essential for vision. Long-term goal of the research is to contribute to development of a visual prosthesis that could be implanted in the eye and substitute for retinal tissue damaged by degenerative diseases. *** Lindy’s goggles on display Historically, five La Valencia Hotel Corporation trustee members were responsible for reacquiring Charles Lindbergh’s goggles from France so they could be placed in San Diego’s International Aerospace Hall of Fame. They’re now part of the Museum’s current special exhibition, “How Things Fly.” The goggles had been given by Lindbergh to the manager of the Le Bourget aerodrome in Paris on May 21, 1927 in appreciation for concealing him from the huge crowd who came to the landing strip to see “Lucky Lindy’s” airplane land. They were in the manager’s possession until 1979, when these La Jolla aviation enthusiasts went to Paris, bought the artifact from the manager of Le Bourget, and donated them to the Balboa Park museum. Those members were Gifford C. Ewing, Willis M. Allen, Sr. and Jr. James R. Ridgway and Richard P. Irwin.