A Reckless Teenage Excursion Of Epic Proportions!

At the tender age of 16, I had finally saved up enough money to buy my first car. Now, keep in mind this was a great accomplishment for me, being a person who, even without any bills to pay, could not normally hang on to a single dollar. I blew money faster than I made it. 

But I wanted a car, ever so much. I saved diligently and finally had the $2000 I needed for the particular car I wanted. Back in 1988, that was a lot of money, especially for a used car. This car ended up being a piece of shit though. Never mind that I had just failed my driving exam, so how in the hell was I supposed to drive a car?

I made use out of this crap mobile anyway. I got my friends to drive me around in it because they all had their licences but didn't have a car. It worked out for everyone. A few times I drove it, even without having a licence. Once, even while I had been drinking. I know, I know. It makes me less judgemental of drunk drivers, especially the very young ones. I mean, we all get so angry at these inebriated imbeciles behind the weel, do we not? But, how many of us can say we've never made such poor life decisions as young people? Even grown ass adults get behind the weel, drunk. It's just that we are the ones who thankfully never killed anyone. I just feel like the mob mentality that happens towards people who've killed someone by drinking and driving, is quite hypocritical.  I wonder how many of these mob members have gotten behind the weel drunk, at least once in their lives. I bet a very high percentage of them have.

I have digressed again. But this is an issue that has always bothered me. I can see the outrage if the person has had a history of driving drunk behind the weel. When they've been caught and charged, numerous times, yet still keep getting behind the weel drunk, eventually killing someone. I think our outrage is justified in those situations, for sure. 

Back to the goddamn topic though.

Back then, we would often go for weekends to a nearby city where my best friend's sister lived. We would stay with her and go to nightclubs. We were never ID'd. So, my best friend and my other best friend (the sister of bff #1 and also my brother's girlfriend) all piled into my car to go on our adventure. 

It was a colossal mistake of epic proportions! We had been warned. Yes, we certainly had been warned. We had been told by a classmate who worked at the gas station and garage, that the car would never make it. See, we had let our oil completely run out, being so very idiotic as we were, and this friend of ours knew the car was on its last legs or wheels. My poor, poor, car. 

But we had the power of our belief behind us. If we only believed strong enough (and we did), we would make it to our destination. I remember being so mad because my brother's girlfriend (now my sister-in-law) wouldn't let me, the car's actual owner, sit in the front seat. My best friend Bev was going to drive. We fought and fought about this. I finally relented, but pouted and fumed over the injustice, in the back seat. 

Alas, we made it only about 20 miles before my car finally lost steam on Jackass Mountain. Yes, that is the actual name of the mountain my car died on! It's rather ironic since the decision to take an unreliable vehicle on a road trip was quite a jackass one. Did this turn of events sway us on completing our mission tho? You are correct. It did not. There were no cell phones back then, but a local stopped and went back to town to get my boss, Francis, to tow my car. Did we go back home, with my car tho? No, actually we did not. 

We were ever so determined to make it to our destination that we decided to hitchhike. Another bad decision, after a series of other equally bad decisions.  Our first ride was with my brother-in-law's coworker. A religious guy. We rode under the canopy of his pick-up truck. This ride only brought us about halfway to the city we were going to. 

So on we marched, up to the freeway. Ever so intent on our goal. I have to say, we did have fun. So far, it was an adventure. And we were young and silly. We always laughed a lot and were a cheerful crew. So anyway, we finally made it to the freeway. It took quite some time for another car to stop for us. What we did was my two friends hid, and I stuck out my thumb. Because too many people hitching, makes it harder to get a ride.

Finally, we had luck and a family stopped. Imagine their shock when, instead of one stupid teenager, three stupid teenagers piled into their car. The poor kid in the back seat. They were so nice to take us though, they could have refused. So we did make it there. And we did have fun. For a while at least. 

That night my best friend and I got separated from the rest of the group. We ended up at the bouncer's apartment. We fooled around with the guy, and at first, it was fun. I ended up losing my virginity. It wasn't a great experience. Not the way I'd dreamed my first time would be. 

The next day, my best friend's older sister picked us up. We were both hungover and completely broke at this point. Both my best friend and I were quite grumpy. Anyway, we started bickering back and forth with each other. Pretty soon, we were no longer on speaking terms. 

My brother's girlfriend was going to stay another night, but my BFF and I needed to get home. There was no way we were going to hitchhike back together. No sir. So she and I hitch-hiked down the highway, away from each other. The dumbest decision, after a series of dumb decisions, that we made. 

But this is the best part of the story. This is the part that will restore your hope for humanity. It didn't take me long to get a ride. I was very lucky to have a trustworthy young woman pick me up. She was a journalist, and she was ever so kind to me. She was full of concern for my well-being. I didn't see my bff, down the road, so she must have also gotten a ride. 

This lady tho. This kind, lovely lady. She lectured me plenty about the danger I was putting myself in. But she did so in the kindest and most caring way possible. She was only going to the next town over, so I knew my trials were not over. But this guardian angel was compelled to help me. She bought me a bus ticket for the rest of my trip home. I was so humbled by this lady. I still am. Who knows, she may have saved my life. This experience didn't stop me from making more really poor life choices, but at least, for this one time, I made it home safely. 

My bff and I called each other as soon as we made it home. We needed to know we both made it back safely. That night, with the worst of my hangover over with, exhausted, I went to bed with an appreciation for my life and for this kindhearted young woman for helping me in my hour of need. 

Did I learn anything by experiencing the consequences of my actions? No I did not. We continued hitchhiking to the city until finally someone had a car. It wasn't me. When my bff aquired a boyfriend, he would take us. The sad ending to the story, is the death of my best friend. I never liked the way her bf drove, he was very reckless. There is a story to tell, but this is not the time or the place. We had another friend who died from drinking and driving, earlier, as well. she was a bright light in this world, and very loved. When they have their entire lives before them, and from one bad choice, they are gone, is such a tragedy.

There is one other memorable road trip I had that is worth mentioning. I was newly engaged to my partner. We lived in a city quite far away from a lot of our friends and family, so we drove a lot back then. I loved these road trips. It was a 7 hour trip to get to Vancouver, Canada. We were up for it. 

This one time, for the entire drive to Vancouver, we fought. It was a wonderful fight tho. Full of passion and rightous outrage. We were arguing about humor that punches down. I saw a lot of what he found funny, as being racist. It was a very subtle kind of racism. And because I grew up in a First Nations community, I was very sensitive about any kind of racism, as we all should be. So even though his voice impressions, may have not been the worst racism possible, they were still racist in my eyes. 

So we fought about social justice topics for an entire eight hours. My partner did learn. Take heed, he did eventually understand where I was coming from. But why did it take so goddamn long for the lesson to sink in? And I did not trust him fully, maybe. Because, voices can be fun. I get that. If I do not trust someone's intentions yet, then when they make voice imitations, it's going to trigger me. I do not like it anyway, as a rule when people do this. Okay, maybe the Jerky Boys were funny. I can't deny that. Crank calling seems like it could be pretty fun.

On other road trips, we would pass the time by pleasuring each other sexually, lol! Or we'd stop somewhere on the side of the road. Once we stopped at a creek. I remember once, in the forest. Mostly I remember having the best conversations. Once we bullied this lady who was driving terribly. She eventually pulled over and her husband drove. I wish I could say that I feel remorseful for our actions, but I do not. It was a lot of fun, and I was manic with glee. It was ever so much fun. Don't judge me too harshly. I was in my early 20's and my prefrontal cortex was underdeveloped. 

I'll finish up here. Thank you so very much for reading my stuff.❤️