Back when I was 16 (about 20 years ago), being a young “buck” I was game for just about anything, me and three of my friends, had been down at the Rec Center, on this summer night, attending a dance. When one of my friends, Steven had fell head over heels in love with this young girl, and had hatched a plan with another one of my friends Jason and Billy to have Steven's girl friend, have a sleep over at her house that night, for Jason's and Billy's girlfriends along with some other girls. I, having the car, would pick Steven, Billy, Jason, and Dave up, and around midnight, we would head out to a very rural area of Grayson County, Virginia.
Seemed like a “capitol” plan at the time, but their was some major problems with it. This girl that was having the sleep over, had over protective parents, and worse yet, lived several miles down a dirt road, at its dead end. They lived in a single wide trailer, but their was a barn on the property. They also had dogs.
Adding to the problem, was the fact that they lived in farm country, it was wide open terrain, and barbed wire for several hundred yards around their single wide, with no cover, besides an unusually deep ditch that ran along side the road. ..
To make matters worse, their was a thick stand of trees, lining the dirt road going in, their was no pull offs in this stand, and the trees where tight to the road, the stand of trees was at least A quarter mile long, and just past them (moving away from the girls), was another house, this one, with a family, and some older teenagers, with several large dogs, more wide open farmland.....
Lets consider all the facts together.... Lots of negatives, but “they are girls at the end of the rainbow!!!!”
Was we to be deterred by these facts?? HECK NO!!!
In the immortal words of Admiral David Farragut, of US Navy during the Civil War's “Battle of Mobile Bay”
Damn the torpedoes!! FULL SPEED AHEAD!
At about midnight, we loaded up in my Shelby Charger, did I mention that this is a small car? And counting me, their was 5 of us in it! As I recall, good friend Billy, got to ride in the hatchback! It was a nice ride out to the girls, earlier that day, me and a couple of the friends, rode down to the end of the dirt road, as a reconnaissance. So we knew what we was getting into. Was we deterred?
NOPE! We had visions of cute girls in our heads...For some reason unknown to us at the time, something had badly clouded our judgment.
We arrive at the dirt road, in question, past midnight, I recall it well, very mild night, clear and their was a full moon showing, I had to park my car, at a entry gate to a field,
We got out, and started walking down the road, keeping in mind that it was actually difficult to sneak silently down a dirt road. The girls, where waiting for us! Phone calls had been made before hand and they where watching for us! As we got close to the first house, we eased off the gravel road, and walked in the grass, opposite the house, for the sake of stealth.. A dog, in the yard, suddenly “went off” scaring the dickens out of us, we heard a screen door open, a feller came out, and chastised the dog, rather heavily, and went back inside. The Dog, was downgraded to “low, mean growl and you better be thanking god for that chain link fence” mode...
We continued on, being thankful for the cover the woods provided, soon the trailer and barn come into sight, we ease off the gravel road, and into the deep ditch, that has been thoughtfully mowed and trimmed, just for our use!! We creep up to the edge of the yard, and decide to send someone to the girls bedroom window, after a few minutes, we get the report...
Steve's girlfriend is their, obviously, she lives their, but alas, only ONE other girl was their, If I remember correctly, she was Jason's. Unknown to us, the girls had been spending practically every weekend over at this girls house, and the parents would not let them spend THIS weekend their.
BUMMER.... So basically, only Steven, and Jason had girls...After all that sneaking too..
While we are deciding what too do, (and to give the girls time to sneak out) we are talking low in the ditch line the front door opens, and out comes this girls pa! He takes a few minuets to hang around the porch, than goes back inside! Steven and Jason, are not to be denied, they insist on staying, but the rest of our band, decide to leave them, and head back to the car. After all, it really sucks, to be the 3rd wheel. We slowly make it back to the car, past that other house with the other dogs
We had agreed to return at a set time...I cannot remember how late it was, but it was like 3 AM or something. Me Dave, and Billy, ride to Galax Virginia, to hit a burger joint, and burn some time.
We arrive back at the appointed hour, and the two love birds are no where to be found.
Hmmm.... after waiting another half an hour or so, we decide to walk the half mile back down to the trailer, and see what the hold up is. We three, get out of the car, and start making our way down.
We slip by the house, where the hound is still growling deep, and mean, and just as we get toward the middle of the stand of trees.....BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!! A shotgun blast pierces the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We three, start hauling tail back to the Charger, just as fast as we can run!! All efforts to be stealthy are thrown to the wind!!! As we fly by the house, like an express train on feet, the dogs are going completely nuts!! And Lights are coming on inside!!!....I can speak only for myself at this point, but I found an extra gear....and sped up even more!! Nothing is more motivating than a well placed shotgun blast, I tell you what!
As we make it to the Shelby, and slow down, to get in the car, we can hear in the far distance, More feet running on the gravel road, we also hear doors banging, dogs baying, assorted cursing, from several different voices!!
I pop the hatchback on the Shelby, raise it up, and start backing back up the dirt road, toward what must be Jason, and Steven, running for their lives!! With the idea, that they will see us coming, and can dive in to the hatchback, and we get away with a quickness. I back up, to the house, with the dogs, and the lights, Steven and Jason, dive into the Shelby, I hit first gear and we began our getaway...
The chain link gate was opened, and the dogs got turned on our two “lover boys” LOL Jason was incensed about that, I seem to recall, that he got chewed on a bit as he neared the house. The details are sketchy in my mind because of what happened next...
We had though that we was clear of danger, I recall hitting the paved road, and rocketing back toward Providence Rd, to get us out of their...I was hurried, going a bit faster than normal but not crazy fast...Everyone was excited, and talking loud and fast about what had happened
The reason the gate got turned open was to let the feller and his Ford Thunderbird out....
He could tell, which way we went, by all the thrown dirt, and black marks I made when I turned on to the paved road....A road that he knew like the back of his hand....He and his T-Bird went too running us down....But at that time, we was a couple of miles ahead, and was clueless....But we would not remain clueless for long....
I noticed it first...in the rear view, the classic “high beams on” and “I am going to run you down” style of driving. I had already head a shotgun blast, I wanted nothing of it, so I stepped on it....But I did not know the road, and it was a very curvy one...
Poor Billy, was in the hatchback again, as I was taking the curves, hard and fast as I dared, he was being tossed around like a rag doll, I could hear the rest of my friends ripping the seatbelt out of their spools,, with that “ZINNNNG” sound, followed by a “click”... We finally got to Providence Road, I knew this road quite a bit better, and I was able to get some good distance from that T-Bird , Billy was screaming, about all my stereo gear, and tool boxes beating him half to death in the curves.
We took Providence Rd, to its intersection with RT 94, about 7 miles west of Fries Virgina, Man O man, I was so glad to see RT94, a road that I traveled almost daily... I stood on that turbo charged engine, and did not let up to we got to Fries. It was late at nigh, traffic was none existent, and we where scared out of our minds, with the thoughts of that Thunderbird and its potentially shotgun wielding driver
We saw them pull onto 94, about half a mile behind us, but now, that we was on a road I knew well, I was able to really floor the Shelby, and that was the last we saw of him.
I drove us straight home....
During the next weekend dance, the girls had got into quite a bit of trouble, which put an end to the sleepovers. BUT... ROFLMAO!!! Steven was still love struck... He had asked if we would go back down their, he was met with a very strong “HELL NO!!!” from all of us.
So he does the next best thing, he borrows HIS MOM”S CAR..
He goes down their a week after “the incident” and details are sketchy to what happened, but one thing is certain....LOL!!! His mom's car took a shotgun blast to the trunk... Made a nice pattern from what I heard! !!!
O no...I just realized something....I now have a young daughter....
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