Sunday, September 16, 2012

400 Horsepower Nostalgia - Part II

A final note on this subject, then back to business. Was out in front of the house years ago (actually, had just finished waxin' the '70 Chevelle SS I described earlier). A neighborhood gal and her girlfriend, both of which I graduated from High School with, came strollin' by, returning from the nearby tennis courts. Both back home from college for the summer. Both lookin' good. They stopped and talked, and invited me over for some pizza which they said that they had ordered. Walked on over with them and was hangin' out on her back porch. Within 15 minutes the pizza arrives, carried by some jerk who graduated a few years earlier, who I shall mention only as ER, and a buddy of his. Apparently they all had arranged a date earlier, with ER buyin' the pizza and his buddy a blind date for the second gal. ER immediately spots me and 'cops an attitude'. I wasn't goin' to hang around anyway considering the circumstances. Considering ER's attitude, however, I ate a piece of pizza before I made an excuse to leave. A few days later another friend tells me that ER made a comment to him about tossin' me out physically - was lucky I left. I just thought "good luck".

About a week later I'm cruisin' down RT119 headin' for the Memorial Bridge. I'm just approaching the old WINKYS (earlier copy of MacDonalds - better I thought) when who do I spot pullin' out of their lot onto 119 and goin' my way - ER in his Corvette convertible (was a '72 I think - pretty sharp - 327, light blue with solid white interior and top, chrome sidepipes). He got another gal next to him, wearin' a big yellow SunHat (ER was a ladies man with some family money). It's maybe a quarter mile or less from the approach across the bridge and not a car in sight. I speed up an pull along side - ER is sippin' a giant drink through a straw and preoccupied with the gal. I shift in to neutral (3 speed automatic with shift kit, remember) and rev it up - WAA...WAAA...WAAA....WAAAAA!!! ER's head does a 180 and he's lookin' over at me - bug eyed and mouth agape - same with the gal. I holler over somethin' like "C'mon - lets see if you can drive that thing!!" I drop it into second and gun it - chirped some tire goin' in to 3rd with a little fishtail and I'm flyin'. I look in the rear view mirror. I see the front end of ER's 'Vette rise up like he's on it - but he starts to weave between the two lane centerline. Can't watch any longer - I'm brakin' and gearing down - there's a sharp left hand S-Curve after the bridge. I make the curve and head out right down RT201. Pulled into a bar parking lot down the road and waited, but no ER.

A week or two later, I run into the gal with the yellow SunHat who was with ER - I knew her. Strolled over and asked her what happened. She lit into me, callin' me an idiot this and that and what's my problem. She then starts to laugh. Said that ER spilled his giant milkshake all over himself and the interior of the 'Vette, console and all, trying to control the car. On top of that, her giant SunHat blew off her head, out the back and over the bridgerail into the river. I pulled out some cash, offering to buy her another hat. She said don't worry about it. Wasn't fond of the hat. ER bought it for her, anyway, and she wasn't seeing him anymore. Said he was a jerk. HA! Never saw ER again to this day. I did read in the paper, about 5 years later, of him being sentenced to a few years in jail for insurance fraud. He's probably out and a Senator or Congressman or somethin' now.

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