Chapter 5
CRASH AND BURN
or
Chance Meeting
or
A Big Surprise!
CRASH AND BURN
or
Chance Meeting
or
A Big Surprise!
That afternoon after I had opened the rest of my presents, I put on my Mickey Mouse ears, gathered my drum and horn and got on my tractor and headed to the hill. I would toot holding the horn to my mouth with one hand and bang on the drum with the other. In between toots and bangs when the tractor started veering off course, I would grab the steering wheel and steer it back on course. I tooted and I banged, and along with the clanking of the chain on the tractor as I pedaled, I sounded like an army going up that hill. Neighbors would pop their heads out of their doors to see what the racket was all about as I passed by. I was so excited, decked out with all my Mickey Mouse gear, that I was determined to make this the fastest ride down the hill ever!
I slowly made my way up the hill conserving strength so I could pedal even faster as I came down the hill. My toots and bangs came slower and slower as I crept up the hill, synchronized with my pedaling. When I got to the top of the hill I turned the tractor around and sat there a moment or two pondering the sidewalk and street down below. Since I was determined to make this the fastest ride ever, I wanted to make sure nothing was in the way.
It was a quiet, sleepy, Christmas afternoon. There was no-one on the sidewalk. There were no cars on the street. I scooted back in the seat of the tractor and made myself comfortable. I stretched a bit and then placed both feet, one at a time very purposefully on each of the pedals. I put the bugle in my mouth and held it there with my teeth. I held the drum in one hand and the mallet in the other hand. I was ready.
I took a long deep breath and held it for a second. And then I sounded the loudest, longest, most chilling note I could, breaking the sleepy silence of the afternoon. Birds flew from the bushes. Cats screatched from nowhere. And dogs barked and howled from their yards. My feet pushed at the pedals, slowly at first, but gradually moving back and forth faster and faster like the pistons on a powerful steam locomotive. I was on my way!
I started to band my drum and blew my bugle and pedaled with all my might. HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal; HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal. I put all my strength my legs had to offer into the pedals. HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal; HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal. Nothing was going to stop me now. By the time I was at the bottom of the hill I was sure I was going faster than I ever went before. I could hear the wind howl as it rushed past me in a whirlwind frenzy. I honked and I banged with a passionate fervor, pausing only momentarily throughout the ride to correct the steering to keep the tractor on the sidewalk. I remembered thinking: If only Annette could see me now.
I was still picking up speed as I approached a house with bug bushy bushes that surrounded it's yard. The bushes were so high and thick that you could never see inside to the yard. I had often wondered what was behind those bushes, but was always too afraid to poke my head inside to find out. And then, I as I approached the house, with no warning at all, a dark figure stepped out from behind the bushes, and out onto the sidewalk. It occurred so fast. And I was going so fast. In a sudden panic I blew one long and loud blast as hard as I could on my horn as I threw my drum and mallet into the air so I could grab at the steering wheel. Then my bugle went flying as I spit it out so I could scream as loud as I could. The dark figure turned and stared right into my eyes in horror just like a deer in headlights. The figure was too frightened to move as I quickly came upon it. The tractor veered out of control as I covered my head with my hands and hid my eyes from the coming tragedy. The tractor weaved out into the street, flying off the rounded curb of the sidewalk, becoming airborne for a moment before landing in a haze of sparks and a loud clunk. The tractor was still moving at breakneck speeds, and fearing for my life because I knew I was never suppose to be out in the middle of the street, I panicked even more and over corrected the steering of the tractor so now I was headed straight for the curb of the sidewalk. As I hit the rounded curb it acted like a ramp and sent me and the tractor up into the air, flying over the head of the figure that I was trying to avoid hitting, just standing there and watching me fly past overhead in total shock and amazement. As the tractor began it's downward arc I became seperated from it and headed down towards the bushes. The bushes got bigger as I fell closer and closer to the ground. Then everything went black and all I could hear was loud snapping and crunching, twigs being snapped and brittle autumn leaves being crushed. Then just as fast as it all happened, it stopped. There was total silence. The stillness had returned to the crisp afternoon air. I couldn't move. I thought I was dead.
I slowly made my way up the hill conserving strength so I could pedal even faster as I came down the hill. My toots and bangs came slower and slower as I crept up the hill, synchronized with my pedaling. When I got to the top of the hill I turned the tractor around and sat there a moment or two pondering the sidewalk and street down below. Since I was determined to make this the fastest ride ever, I wanted to make sure nothing was in the way.
It was a quiet, sleepy, Christmas afternoon. There was no-one on the sidewalk. There were no cars on the street. I scooted back in the seat of the tractor and made myself comfortable. I stretched a bit and then placed both feet, one at a time very purposefully on each of the pedals. I put the bugle in my mouth and held it there with my teeth. I held the drum in one hand and the mallet in the other hand. I was ready.
I took a long deep breath and held it for a second. And then I sounded the loudest, longest, most chilling note I could, breaking the sleepy silence of the afternoon. Birds flew from the bushes. Cats screatched from nowhere. And dogs barked and howled from their yards. My feet pushed at the pedals, slowly at first, but gradually moving back and forth faster and faster like the pistons on a powerful steam locomotive. I was on my way!
I started to band my drum and blew my bugle and pedaled with all my might. HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal; HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal. I put all my strength my legs had to offer into the pedals. HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal; HONK, BANG, pedal, pedal. Nothing was going to stop me now. By the time I was at the bottom of the hill I was sure I was going faster than I ever went before. I could hear the wind howl as it rushed past me in a whirlwind frenzy. I honked and I banged with a passionate fervor, pausing only momentarily throughout the ride to correct the steering to keep the tractor on the sidewalk. I remembered thinking: If only Annette could see me now.
I was still picking up speed as I approached a house with bug bushy bushes that surrounded it's yard. The bushes were so high and thick that you could never see inside to the yard. I had often wondered what was behind those bushes, but was always too afraid to poke my head inside to find out. And then, I as I approached the house, with no warning at all, a dark figure stepped out from behind the bushes, and out onto the sidewalk. It occurred so fast. And I was going so fast. In a sudden panic I blew one long and loud blast as hard as I could on my horn as I threw my drum and mallet into the air so I could grab at the steering wheel. Then my bugle went flying as I spit it out so I could scream as loud as I could. The dark figure turned and stared right into my eyes in horror just like a deer in headlights. The figure was too frightened to move as I quickly came upon it. The tractor veered out of control as I covered my head with my hands and hid my eyes from the coming tragedy. The tractor weaved out into the street, flying off the rounded curb of the sidewalk, becoming airborne for a moment before landing in a haze of sparks and a loud clunk. The tractor was still moving at breakneck speeds, and fearing for my life because I knew I was never suppose to be out in the middle of the street, I panicked even more and over corrected the steering of the tractor so now I was headed straight for the curb of the sidewalk. As I hit the rounded curb it acted like a ramp and sent me and the tractor up into the air, flying over the head of the figure that I was trying to avoid hitting, just standing there and watching me fly past overhead in total shock and amazement. As the tractor began it's downward arc I became seperated from it and headed down towards the bushes. The bushes got bigger as I fell closer and closer to the ground. Then everything went black and all I could hear was loud snapping and crunching, twigs being snapped and brittle autumn leaves being crushed. Then just as fast as it all happened, it stopped. There was total silence. The stillness had returned to the crisp afternoon air. I couldn't move. I thought I was dead.
1 comment:
hey it isn't fair to stop it there.
Post a Comment