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March 20, 2007
The Trip Out West: The Beginning
Tom and I, and I should point out that Tom isn’t the guy’s real name. Anybody who knows the story will know who Tom is but to protect the identity of the real person I’ve decided to call him Tom. Anyway, it’s easier to type than William is, though William isn’t his name either.
Tom and I graduated from Miami University in 1983 and at some point decided a trip to the west coast was in order. Tom wanted to take a crack at getting on The Joker’s Wild and he had a sister in San Francisco that he wanted to spend some time with. Stops were scheduled for Boulder, Colorado and Las Vegas; we were going to stay with friends in Boulder and do some camping in Vegas.
Tom had a white 1974, I think, Firebird, that he’d tricked out by having the radio fixed so that it would tune to more than one station; which we both felt would be critical to the success of the trip. We loaded the Firebird up with a tent, sleeping bags, a 30-30 rifle that looked like and may have been a Winchester Carbine, clothes, probably a cooler and possibly some other things.
We left on a Saturday and started driving around midnight. I took the first turn at the wheel while Tom had a nap. The speed limit at the time was 55 mph and Tom and I figured we could keep it at 63 mph and not get in too much trouble.
With Boulder a mere 1227 miles from us we were well on our way.
A little bit of guesswork is going to be needed as I describe this trip to you. I’m going to guess that I’d driven about 250 miles before we stopped, topped off the tank, and Tom took over driving. I’m further going to guess that it was about 30 minutes after Tom started driving that I drifted off to sleep.
I’m certain that it was just a moment or two after sleep overtook me that I was awakened by a quick jarring sensation followed by a loud thump, and while I don't remember any actual screeching I've got to believe there was some as I look back on what had happened.
Which I will desribe in Technicolor detail tomorrow …
Posted by delmer at March 20, 2007 3:15 AM
Comments
You mention that you packed a Winchester 30-30 but there is no mention of any hunting plans. As Chef Hollenback always says, "There's no good that can come of this." If you are going to pack a six-shooter for a cross-country trip it should attach to a water pipe somehow.
Posted by: icymt. at March 20, 2007 3:51 PM
I the future, please refrain from blog entries in the middle of the night. This story is long, I've heard it at least twice, and was looking forward to reading it but the you stopped to go to work? The reason for stopping well short. Man what's the deal! I can't wait till tomorrow, talk about keeping an asshole in suspense!
Posted by: Mikeo at March 20, 2007 7:30 PM
TOO BE CONTINUED?!? D'OH!
Posted by: Dave2 at March 20, 2007 7:59 PM
Boys,
You might want to stock up on the trail mix and Hello Kitty pop tarts. This one could take a while.
Posted by: delmer at March 21, 2007 9:36 AM