More Car Stories

I have a few more "not particularly relevant" car stories from near the end of 1971 (when I lived in Denton Texas)... Just some odds and ends that have stuck in my mind for a variety of reasons.

But before I start there's something I need to mention:
As of late 1971 I had not worn underwear for at least 5 years. That's because back then all the store cashiers were women and I was too embarrassed to buy "tighty whities" for myself. And the thought of asking my mommy to get undies for me was even worse, so I just went without... And the relevance of that will soon become apparent. (Spoiler - it does not involve public embarrassment.)

And here's the first story:
One day I was heading down the interstate in the Charger on my way to Dallas puffing on a "Swisher Sweets" cigar. Yeah - I'm not sure why I started smoking those stupid things... It think it was mostly because I thought they looked cool with the field jacket and shades - but it doesn't really matter :-)
Just south of Lake Dallas there was a construction zone and it was real mess. At one point traffic was diverted onto a temporary gravel road built next to the highway - you had to really pay attention to your driving during that stretch... That's probably why I failed to notice that a huge glowing ember had fallen off of the end of my cigar and was slowly burning it's way through my polyester pants... And just as I was approaching a left turn back toward the highway, the ember (finding no underwear to impede its progress) dropped directly onto my left testicle.

It would be an understatement to say that it was distracting... We're talking instant searing pain with absolutely no clue what was causing it. My first thought was a bee sting, but the pain wasn't letting up... After a few (frantic) seconds I finally deduced that there was probably a correlation between the hole in my pants and that horrible "burning hair" smell, so I quickly yanked down my zipper and got the freaking ember out of there (burning my fingers in the process)... And all of this was happening while I was negotiating a couple of sharp turns - on gravel... Yeah - I have no idea how I avoided wrecking the Charger... The resultant burn took weeks to heal... And that's why I stopped smoking cigars :-)

Next story:

We had some unusually cold weather that winter, and one morning I woke up to find a nice fresh layer of snow on the ground... And - never having driven on snow before - I just had to go out and play in the Charger :-)
So I lowered the idle speed to make it easier to get moving (automatic transmission) and discovered that I could "feather" the parking brake to regain traction when the back wheels started slipping... And it was actually quite a bit of fun :-)
Eventually I headed down Mingo Road toward town. It was a nice straight stretch, with no other traffic (that I noticed) and the snow on the road was absolutely pristine. It was the perfect opportunity to "light it up" - so I floored it. The rear tires instantly broke loose and the speedo jumped up to 100 MPH. I looked in my mirror and my rear tires were throwing rooster tails of snow an incredible distance, creating a "white-out blizzard" in my wake :-)

And that was when I noticed the faint blue and red flashing lights, just barely visible through all that snow...

Aside: When I'm driving I'm usually completely aware of everything going on around me... That's why I've never been in a moving accident (in a car) and never gotten a ticket (that I couldn't get out of) in 42 years... To this day I am totally mystified as to where that cop came from... I swear there wasn't another car on that whole stretch of road. (He must have come from a side street, but I still should have noticed him.) And I digress - slightly :-)

The cop apparently didn't appreciate having his cruiser pelted with all that snow because he seemed pretty ticked off as he approached my window... So I played dumb - claiming I'd never driven on snow before (which was completely true) and that I was having a really hard time getting traction (which was completely false)... He asked if there was any particular reason why I was out driving and I said "not really". So he gave me the "conditions too dangerous to be out driving ... blah, blah, blah ... please go home" lecture and sent me on my way... And I did go home - eventually :-)

And one final story:

Mom didn't make it home for Christmas that year. I seem to recall that she was on the road and wasn't feeling well enough to drive home (for reasons that will become clear eventually).
Karina wasn't around either. That was during the general timeframe when she was performing (singing and playing guitar) in hotel bars in Nashville, New York and Miami. Her life was so frantic and random back then that I never even tried to keep track of where she was... So - for the first time in my life I was alone for the holidays.

Christmas Day was sunny - and unseasonably warm. And (not having anything better to do) I ended up cruising around Denton in the Charger. I was near the North Texas campus when I spotted a long haired "hippie type" with his thumb out so I stopped and picked him up.
He was (as I had surmised) a student - also alone for the holidays - and was heading down to Dallas to hang out with some friends... He only asked for a ride to the Interstate but I offered to take him as far as Lake Dallas (almost halfway to his destination) because - like I said - I didn't have anything better to do... And along the way we talked about having long hair in Texas, and what it was like being away from family on Christmas... And that's about it... Yeah - not much of a story, but here's the point:

I often find myself reflecting on how much has changed in the decades since... There are so many people depending on me (and not just family) for so many things... And there are so many decisions to make - with so much riding on the outcome... I've had to become so ... responsible :-)
Now - I certainly don't have any regrets... It has all been beyond amazing - I would have never believed that life could be this good :-) But from time to time I can't help feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all... And what invariably pops into my mind is the memory that there was once a Christmas day when I was didn't have a care in the world - and I couldn't think of a single reason not to pick up a hitchhiker... And in the back of my mind I still hear Janis' voice - singing:

"Freedom's just another word for ..."