Catching Up with 'Big Momma'
Unquestionably, they were more than just happy to see her. They were relieved.
And this was a little bit crazy. JoAnne Carner - "Big Momma," the old lady-figure, sister-figure and great pal who, by the way, was always ready to beat them to the money.
And they weren't the only ones relieved. Carner was advantageous to be alive. All she did was squeeze the brakes of the motorcycle and it jackknifed on the Tennessee clay and pitched her over the handlebars. All she did was mar both wrists. After a three-month layoff that left her stir-crazy and 45 pounds heavier, Carner was returning at the Wheeling. She was already vigorous and now she was more robust. She gave that great laugh.
"I remember my caddie," Carner recalls. "He said, 'Big Momma, you're not growing to make it around these hills.' And I told him, 'Don't worry - if you can make it, I can make it.' "
Debbie Massey won that one, but that wasn't the projection. Big Momma, then 40, and with her big heart and her big game,
