Thursday's Ramble..

Well, time for the mind to just wander, and say what it wants.. Enjoy!

I don't think I've ever told anyone this, but I've got a confession to make.

I was the reason my brother got his first ticket.

And because of this ticket, it's also the reason he wasn't allowed to get his license back until he turned 18.

Now, I know that your interest is probably spiked a bit, so I'll tell you all the story.

My brother is 5 years (well 4 1/2 according to him!) younger than me.

I was "living the dream" with a driver's license and a car when I was in High School.

I had that beater of a '71 Super Beetle, and I drove the thing to death.

Then, I got into college, and things were even better.

No set schedules, papers were due, but it wasn't required to be at the class in order to commplete them, or turn them in, attendance wasn't an issue, only the work for the specific subject mattered.

So much different from High School. There, you HAD to be in the class. Attendance made up about 1/4 of the grade. Not only that, but the teachers there HAD to know more than you about the subject, so they really took offense if you pointed out something that was lacking in their teaching cirriculum.

In college? Nah. The professors and instructors LOVED the challenge of coming up with new ideas. Pushing the boundaries was accepted and desired. Showing up for class? Not so much. If you made it, you got to listen to the lecture, and learn. If you didn't, well.. I hope you know enough to make the grade for this or that paper..

Anyway, I ramble.

So, while in college, I got to pretty much party and play while getting classes done.

One of the biggest play things I did was to drive around town with friends.

We'd drive out and cut cookies at the local beach, or see who could make the longest skid mark in the parking lot, or jump (see my post on "The Jump") stuff in my car..

The time finally came around when my brother finally got his permit.

After that, it was a short time before he got his license.

And brag about it he did!

I was kind of offended when I found out that he was getting a car even before he'd gotten his permit, let alone before he could really afford one.

My grandpa had told my brother that once he got his license, he could have his Pickup for his first car.

Now, the rules I'd been given to be able to drive were this:

First, I had to have a 3.0 or better GPA.

Next, I had to work, and earn the cash for my car.

Then I had to make sure that I was able to afford the insurance and gas and maintenance for said car as well.


Now, I was able to do all these, and for my trouble, I got one hell of a beater car.

Sure, it was a decent car, and I drove it until the wheels (literally) fell off, but it was MY car.

Now, I was kind of pissed when I found out that my brother was going to be able to cut corners.

First off, my brother NEVER made his GPA above a 2.5. He just wasn't into school.

Secondly, he didn't even bother to look for a job until after he'd dropped out of high school, so earning the money didn't seem to apply here, either.

Because of the no job situation, I highly doubt that he was going to buy and maintain his insurance, gas, oil, or maintenance for said car.

Who then, footed the bill for this?

Yup. You guessed it.

My parents.

The same folks who demanded that I take pride and responsibility for my work and vehicle were the same ones who basically told my brother to run off, and have a good time with their investment.

Well, I decided to see how far that would stretch...

The day after my brother got his license, I invited him to come out to a gig my friends and I were at.

After the band closed for the night, we went over to another friend's house, and partied until about 4am.

Seeing a window of opportunity here, I challenged my brother to an across-town race.

First person back to the house we started from after making each point won.

Before we left, seven folks left to camp out at the points I named as being places you needed to get to.

Then, we waited until we got calls from said observers, and we picked passengers for our cars, and headed out to get started.

I picked a close friend to ride with me, and my brother picked his best friend to ride alongside him.

Now, as you'll recall, I was in a VW Bug, and my brother was driving a Pickup.

His truck was a 1968 Chevy 1/2 ton monster.

So, we're talking about a little 4 cylinder toy going up against a solid steel V-8 moving machine.

I was at a severe disadvantage.

So I decided to let the acceleration and cruising speed of my car make up the difference.

My brother's idea? Shadow me, and beat me to each checkpoint.

So, we took off. I had a great feel for the city, and the lights and locations.

The only real problem I had was that my brother was following, and could overpower my little car when it came down to the last few miles to the checkpoint.

So, I started messing with him.

I increased my speed, and started really challenging lights.

Yellow? Bah, don't pay attention.

Red?

If it's been red, slow down a little, and hope it changes. If it's just changed, ignore it, and keep going...

After the first couple of run red lights, my brother decided that I HAD to be cheating, and he was going to beat me at this game, too.

We were headed to the last checkpoint, and I was running my little car for all it was worth.

The speed limit? Oh, 30 MPH.

My speed? 60.

I thought I had this last one in the bag, and then easy sailing back to the house.

Then, it happened.

The monster FLEW past me.

I mean it.

According to his admission these many years later, he was going about 75-80 MPH..

Yup. In a 30 MPH zone he was going FAST.

Well, time came to make the turn, and I jumped into the turn lane, and made the correct turn.

My brother, screaming along just ahead of me, saw that I'd turned, and decided to make a hairpin turn while still moving at full speed.

This, combined with his non-use of the brake, set him into a power slide that sent him into the middle of a very busy intersection.

Not only that, but he'd ran the red light as well.

Right in front of two city police cruisers, and a sherrif's patrol car as well.

He hadn't seen them, and once he regained control, he flew down to catch me.

I spotted his headlights just behind me, and thinking quickly, doused my lights, and ran into a side alleyway.

Unbeknownst to me, this spared me from the same fate, as the Red and Blue lights came on, and proceeded to chase my brother.

Me, in a minor state of panic, thought that they were after BOTH of us, as there were THREE cruisers in pursuit, not one.

I ducked down alleyways, through back streets, and even cut through a yard hoping to ditch the cars before my friend told me that there was nobody behind us.

I then did what any stupid racing brother would do..

I went back to see what was going on with my brother.

Well, the three cars had pinned my brother's truck, and they were busy patting him down when I drove nonchalantly by to see what was happening.

My brother's friend was already cuffed an in one of the cars, and before I got too much further, they'd slapped the cuffs on him as well.

Knowing that he was going to squeal on me for also racing, I headed home, hoping to partially secure an alibi for where I'd been while he was out getting caught.

This was not to be, as the cops drove him and his friend directly to my house.

Needless to say, my parents WEREN'T thrilled with the idea of us racing, and the held me mostly responsible as I was the older brother, and shouldn't have goaded him into racing in the first place.

Well, after the small hearing, my brother got his license taken away until he turned 18, and he proceeded to make my life a living hell by getting a ride from me whenever he wanted by reminding me of this night.

To be honest? I don't think I'd change a thing.

Yeah, I got in trouble, and I could have killed us both..

But damn, it was fun!