I "Raced" A Van
07/05/08 10:22 PM Filed in: Stories
Today I had to run to
Wal-Mart for, well, Sparkling Grape Juice. It was
absolutely necessary, trust me. That stuff is
addictive. I was in my van, of course, because it’s
the only vehicle to be seen in. Of course, I had the
tunes cranked and I was in my own little world. (I
may or may not have been car dancing ...)
I pulled a stop light and white van pulled up beside me. As I reached to chain the radio station, I heard the other van rev it’s engine, and I saw out of the corner of my eye the passenger roll down his window and shout at me. I rolled down my window as well; I’m always up for a short car-to-car-chat.
“Hey, man, nice van you got there!” I sensed a bit of sarcasm, so I decided to return the gesture.
“Aw, you’re just jealous of my rims.” The driver leaned forward, grinned like an idiot, and layed his foot down on the gas one more time.
“Wanna go?” They questioned. It was at this point I had the severe craving to do something I’ve always dreamt of.
“I don’t think you wanna touch this,” I teased as I pushed down on the gas to let my ’02 Town and Country purr. The passenger and his driver looked at each other and laughed giddily. It was at this point I realized there were several passengers in the back of the van, all bouncing up and down as well. These were all obviously college students, like myself.
I rolled up the window and nodded at my new amigos. We both stared intently at the light. It snapped green and the world seemed to slow ... I could see everyone in the car to my left throw their hands in the air and scream at the driver, urging him on in the race! I heard their car rev up and start to move forward. At the same time, I slammed down (not literally, Mom, don’t worry) on the accelerator in my Chrysler.
But there was one difference between his van and mine. Mine was in park. Intentionally. The white van shot ahead (as only mini-vans can do) as my engine whined and I sat still. Seconds later I saw break lights from the white mini-van. I pulled the gear shift down into drive and started easing foward towards Wal-Mart. The other van slowed enough for me to easily catch them, and their window was down again, all arms in the car flailing wildly, mouths hurling insults at me (most of them too colorful for me to actually want to listen). I left my window up and only smiled as I passed them.
There’s hardly a better feeling than that when you’re in a vehicle. Unless, of course, you’re actually in a car with power ... in that case, racing and winning would be a far better feeling.
I pulled a stop light and white van pulled up beside me. As I reached to chain the radio station, I heard the other van rev it’s engine, and I saw out of the corner of my eye the passenger roll down his window and shout at me. I rolled down my window as well; I’m always up for a short car-to-car-chat.
“Hey, man, nice van you got there!” I sensed a bit of sarcasm, so I decided to return the gesture.
“Aw, you’re just jealous of my rims.” The driver leaned forward, grinned like an idiot, and layed his foot down on the gas one more time.
“Wanna go?” They questioned. It was at this point I had the severe craving to do something I’ve always dreamt of.
“I don’t think you wanna touch this,” I teased as I pushed down on the gas to let my ’02 Town and Country purr. The passenger and his driver looked at each other and laughed giddily. It was at this point I realized there were several passengers in the back of the van, all bouncing up and down as well. These were all obviously college students, like myself.
I rolled up the window and nodded at my new amigos. We both stared intently at the light. It snapped green and the world seemed to slow ... I could see everyone in the car to my left throw their hands in the air and scream at the driver, urging him on in the race! I heard their car rev up and start to move forward. At the same time, I slammed down (not literally, Mom, don’t worry) on the accelerator in my Chrysler.
But there was one difference between his van and mine. Mine was in park. Intentionally. The white van shot ahead (as only mini-vans can do) as my engine whined and I sat still. Seconds later I saw break lights from the white mini-van. I pulled the gear shift down into drive and started easing foward towards Wal-Mart. The other van slowed enough for me to easily catch them, and their window was down again, all arms in the car flailing wildly, mouths hurling insults at me (most of them too colorful for me to actually want to listen). I left my window up and only smiled as I passed them.
There’s hardly a better feeling than that when you’re in a vehicle. Unless, of course, you’re actually in a car with power ... in that case, racing and winning would be a far better feeling.