Adventures in Automobiling 1

   My first car accident occurred about a year after I bought by Chevy Nova. I was driving back from a Renaissance Faire with Dan, Jean and one or two other people that I can’t seem to recall. While heading south down Route 101 I was changing lanes from the left lane into the right lane and a s I got into the right lane, a guy in an Acura Legend pulled out from a parked position on the side of the road and drove into the side of my car causing minor wheel well damage, putting a dent into my car door and knocking one of my hubcaps off. I got out of my car to check if he was okay, he was trying to lift his front bumper off the ground. His fiberglass car was no match for 1971 steel. He was a jerk about it so I felt little pity for him. I popped my car door out and all was well.

    Months after that, with Dan and Jean in the car, I drove my car up onto someone’s lawn on Christmas Eve by taking a curve to fast and bent a rim. I replaced that tire with my bald spare and carried on.

  A few months after that we were playing “car tag,” a suicidal game we used to play as teens.  I had Jean and Stacey in my car, we were going about 90 down the highway with Jay, in his mom’s station wagon trying to catch up. When they pulled up along side, George started hanging out of the back window trying to reach out and tag my car. Just before he did, I slammed on my brakes, which was a maneuver we used to do during the game that would cause the other to fly past you.. However this time, because I never replaced my bald tire, my car jerked to the right sideswiping Jay’s station wagon with George still hanging out the window hitting every part of the side of my car. He was fine, but my car, sustaining more damage to my wheel well, could only turn right without the tire scrapping metal. We had George’s brother hammer it out the next day and all was well.

   My first official car repair occurred when Don, Jean and I went to the mall to pick up Laurie’s sister from work. On the way back to her place my car started to lose the ability to steer while driving down the same stretch of highway I hit Jay’s car. We ended up pulling over onto the same side street as the last time. It was like Deja Vous for Jean and I. When I checked out my car the right front tire was diagonal in almost a cartoonish way. It looked bad, and I seriously thought that my car was dead forever. I took everything out of my car when we got picked up “just in case” LOL.

  I remember crying when I watched my car be taken away by a tow truck as my dad drove me following behind to the shop. It was only a ball-joint. A $25.00 part and what I remember being a million dollars in labor. I think it may  only have been $75, but to me it was a million. I made my dad pay because I was poor.  

   The first time I got pulled over by the cops was during the summer I was filming “Summer: The Documentary” It was a week after the ball-joint incident. A whole bunch of us were at Laurie and Allie’s house. George, Allie Carrie and I were going to see Jay’s band play at a club. We were the only ones old enough to get in, so Denver, Jean and Laurie stayed behind.

  The club was on Route 231, a stretch of road that was notorious as the road that teens and early 20 somethings use to “cruise”. Unbeknownst to me, an unflattering article about the police came out in the local newspaper in which teens mocked the police and referred to 231 as the “Wild West.” To make a statement, the police decided to make this particular weekend an “example” by putting the whole staff on 231 all weekend.

  I was on the road for all but 12 seconds before they pulled me over. Naturally, I tried to have George video tape the stop for the documentary. I got four tickets about 1% of the 410 tickets they gave out that night according to an article in that Sunday’s paper). Headlight out. Taillight out. Cracked windshield and no Insurance (because I took my insurance card out when I cleaned out my car the week before) and told to go back home. We went back to Laurie’s house, explained what happened. and took Carrie’s car to the show.

   When we finally got back after the show my car was moved. I had given Jean, all but 15 at the time a copy of my key “for emergency situation.” Yes, I did let her drive once because I do stupid things, but I was sure this was not “an emergency.” I went over to my car and Jean is sleeping in the front seat (bench seats), Laurie is sleeping in the back seat. And some random cat is sleeping on the back windowsill.

   The next time I was pulled over we were all leaving Laurie’s house one night. She lives on a dead end so when we drive in and out, we are “Supposed to turn off our headlights” so the lights don’t shine into the house causing her father to get mad. We were outside deciding what we should do next. It was one of the first time hanging out with Matt, so I didn’t know him all that well yet. Jay yells out. “I know where to go. Follow me” and hops into his station wagon. I follow him in my car and Matt followed me in his white late 80’s Cutlass Calais.

  Jay, being silly, turned the wrong way down a one way street and I follow. Matt follows me. Jay stops at a green light. It turns red and he guns it. I creep u

p look to see when it’s clear and blows the light too. I look at the end of the road and I think I see Jay turn left onto Main street. So I get to the light it’s clear so I blow that light and turn left to try and catch up. Turns out, it wasn’t Jay. I look in my rearview mirror and see the square lights of Matt’s white Cutlass behind me still and think to myself, how stupid will I look to this new guy if I admit I lost Jay. He probably just went to the diner where we always go at the end of the night. If I just keep ahead of him and make turns he’ll think I’m still following him until I get to the diner. So I quickly turn right down a road drive quickly to the end and turn without stopping, I do this a few times till I get back to Main street when I see a cop. I start driving normal, but he keeps following me. Finally, he pulls me over.

  “License and registration” blah blah blah. Then he asks me Why did you go through the stop light. I said I didn’t know I did? Why did I blow the stop sign? I didn’t see it. Why did you slide through the other stop signs? I didn’t see them until the last minute. He then walks over to the front of my car and hits the hood with his flashlight and says. “Turn on your headlights.” I forgot to turn them back on after leaving Laurie’s block. them At this point I just assume “I’m toast” and put my head down in defeat. “That may explain why you didn’t see them.” Umm… Yeah. That’s right. He then adds, “I’m just impressed that you lost that other officer.” Whaaaa? “If it wasn’t for your headlights being off, I wouldn’t have known it was you. As long as your license is clean. I’ll let you go”

Dodged a bullet there.