[lit-ideas] Re: remeMbering 1906
- From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:49:30 EST
<<That initiated the most hair-raising, speed crazed ride I have ever
experienced.>>
You never rode with my Father who, before seat-belts were invented, thought
nothing of passing at 90 mph (an acceptable highway speed then -- but I'm
dating myself) on a double-yellow lined hairpin curve in the mountains,
narrowly
missing both the oncoming semi and the fall-off cliff on the right. It was
a sport to him; sort of a macho contest. Plus an opportunity to see how
scared Mom could get.
As children, we learned to close our eyes in the car a lot.
Julie Krueger
========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: remeMbering 1906
Date: 1/16/2007 3:18:06 P.M. Central Standard Time From:
_eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) To:
_lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on:
>>today, you are lucky if you can get over 10 mph in most cities
You should have told that to Khan Tarioul -- I remember his name still
-- a taxi driver I encountered in the early '90s.
Some friends and I were wandering at night in the outer Village, on Jane
Street, and we suddenly realized we had 15 minutes to catch our bus.
I flagged a cab and told the driver I would give him an extra twenty if
he could get us to the Port Authority, south building 8th Avenue side,
in ten minutes.
That initiated the most hair-raising, speed crazed ride I have ever
experienced. At twice the limit, he snaked through the slower Village
traffic, at one point going up on a curb to pass a double-parked
vehicle, until he hit Sixth avenue. The it was rocket time, weaving from
lane to lane at 60 mph, squealing to a stop at 23rd and making a left
across three lanes of traffic, his horn imitating Debussy's repeated
note etude, through a red light at Seventh, into a squealing, braking
sliding turn up Eighth Avenue. Then he floored it, passing everyone,
even passing a flashing police car in pursuit, cutting against four
lanes to park in front of the PABT. "We in time," she smiled.
After I unclenched my cold cramped hands from the armrests, resisting
the urge to vomit, I crawled out and paid him fare and tip. We made the
bus with five minutes to spare.
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
