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| Issue 32: | June 2026 |
| Haibun Story: | 106 words |
By Bob Lucky
Last Call
At her 70th birthday party, a small gathering in a flickering neon-lit bar, Julia announced to her friends that she was going to compete in the Wok Racing Championships even if it killed her. She would be the first individual female gold medal winner or a footnote in the history of the sport. “You mean walk racing?” someone asked. After she explained what it was, someone else asked, “Have you even seen snow, Julia?” The bartender jumped in: “Why a wok? Why not a cast iron skillet?” They all laughed, but they thought about it.
parking lot goodbyes the pull of the moon waning
Publisher’s Note:
Who knew?! Wok racing is for real, and became popular in Germany in 2003. Created by German TV host Stefan Raab, the annual world championship has featured celebrities and a few Olympians reaching speeds of 105 km/h (65 mph) in single woksleds and 114 km/h (70 mph) in four-person woksleds. Still skeptical, I checked YouTube for actual footage and found, among other videos, Lucas Cordalis versus Joey Kelly in the Single WOK Final, 12 November 2022:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuKaSLO9soU
And Wikipedia lists stats and speed records for the 15 championships that were held from 2003 through 2023:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok_racing
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