One
of my favorites in “HOT ROD STORIES” is a story about my cousin Denny, his hot rod adventures.
His mom said I was a bad influence on him, and maybe (I think) I was. I taught him to “speed-shift”
and he was with me on some street racer adventures including a car chase by the Oakland Police !! ( we got away!)
But now I was in the army 5000 mi. away.
Sometimes as we are growing up, we fall in with the “wrong people,” it happened to
me and it happened to Den. Castlemont high, in the early fifties, there were no gangs or drugs or violence. If
you wore a leather jacket and smoked a cigarette, You was bad!
Connie and Den were “going together” they were a great looking
couple. they exchanged class photo’s and Den put Connie’s picture in his jacket.....next to his heart.
Now this is starting to sound like “sixteen candles”.... but enter “the wrong
people”.
Den started palling around at school with two new friends, they all got along real good sharing their stories and adventures.
The three of them loved cars, they talked cars, dreamed cars, but they didn’t have one.
But one guy (Paul) had a plan, every day he walked past a used car lot that had two cars that interested
him, a Ford and a chevy. The conversation turned to which one was better? That probably went on for days.
So one day Paul was passing the lot again and the salesman saw he liked those cars. They talked and the salesman even started
one up . and then he found out that Paul didn’t even have a license. Paul sadly watched the salesman put the key’s
back on this board with all the key’s.
The next day at school, a daring plan evolved, go back to the lot at night, break into the little office and take the
key’s off the board. take a car for a “test ride”, then bring it back.
Are
you guy’s in with me? Lets do it! They all agreed, yes what kicks that will be!
That evening, they stood at the side window of the little office, looking at the board of key’s,
so close to them, so close to adventure. only a pane of glass separated them from the key’s. Pow!! the glass was broken.------reaching
inside, they fished out a set of key’s, the key’s for the chevy, maybe that was when the idea was born to take
the ford also,
“Get
your motor runnin, Head out out on the highway!. Lookin for Adventure!... And whatever comes our way.”
Born to be wild............Born to be wild.
The three boys took both cars and slipped out of the
lot and into the night un-noticed. They drove the side streets towards Hegenburger rd. near the Oakland
airport, a good place to drag race the ford and chevy against one another. Den and Paul were in the Ford racing side by side
with the chevy, yelling and laughing out the window on this lonely dark stretch of road. Then they slowed down and pulled
off the road all excited and happy. they got out of the cars, jumping around. They had pulled it off!!
D“Lets turn around and try it again”!! Den, you drive the Ford, paul
and I’ll take the Chevy. Denny says I’ll show you what a Ford can do. He took off his jacket as he walked over
to the Ford. The headlights of the cars showed the dust still settling. Den threw his jacket on
the seat and slid behind the wheel. Com’n on you chicken ! Paul yelled ! and he popped the clutch and spun the
Chevy’s tires in the gravel. The Ford jumped towards the road spraying gravel all the way........ Two-lane blacktop,
no traffic.
They rolled together side by side, Den on the white line, and Paul on his right, a signal was given and.... engines
racing, tires squealing, the race was on!!!
Den’s Ford pulled ahead right away but a quick glance showed the Chevy was holding it’s own. Speedometers
swing up past 60, then 70, Dennis was thinking I can’t pull in front of him yet! And
theres a car coming!! It just seemed the car appeared out of nowhere! But there it was right
in front of him !! His foot hit’s the brake Too hard!! The Ford locks up all four tires and somehow he
ducks in behind Pauls car, struggling for control trying to keep the car straight and on the blacktop. And just when you think,
oh god I’m lucky, we made it. Something else needs some luck too. The car they almost hit was a police car!
A glance in the mirror confirms the police are turning around!! Paul saw the cop’s
and kept going, his tailights growing smaller in the dark night. Den’s heart was pounding, and the pedal hit the
metal! The race was on! The cop’s were gaining!...Up ahead was a residential neighborhood.Yes! Go for it!!
“I like smoke and lightening,....Heavy metal thunder!!
“ Racing with the wind.............And the feeling that
i’m under.”..
Cranking the Ford around the corners, Den gained a little distance on the “black & white, but he couldn’t
lose them enough to get away. The gas gauge looked like it was below empty! He took a right hand turn too fast and slid
over the curb on the wrong side of the street, up on some-ones lawn! He opened the door and went down on his knee’s
in the wet grass. The Ford was still in second gear and it continued running over the lawn, through a hedge and came
to a stop at the front steps of the next house!
He ran down the driveway between the houses, past a family sitting at their table with startled looks
on their faces! Jumping fences, running across yards, hiding when he heard sirens, it was
late when he got home. He realized that he had left his jacket but he knew there was no ID in it, only Connie’s
class picture, and he would ask her for another.
The police found out the car was stolen and the only evidence that they had was a nice new jacket.............with
a pretty girls picture in the pocket.
A
smart detective took the photo to all the near-by high school’s, checked the year books, and had connie brought
to the office. “”do you have a boy friend?” the detctive asked. Connie was shocked and gave his name, then
it was Dennys turn in the office.
He got off pretty easy because of his age...... and his fathers good support.
Sometime
later the high school sweet hearts were married, Around that time, a very appropriate song came out on the radio,
“I fought the lawn and...........the law won.”
“I fought the law and.....................the
law won!
