The year that my father passed away, my friend Scott moved in with us. Scott is an unbelievably spirited friend. (Though I didn't realize it then, it was a true blessing to have him there with me.)
Scott was the friend who always seemed to ride the edge of sanity. Always making me laugh, and never a dull moment, Scott made that dismal time in my life, have some of the greatest memories.
Scott was, and still is a nature lover. Being outdoors was Scott's mission in life. In being a true outdoors man, he wanted the vehicle that he owned to say that he would rather be on a trail than a road. Well, the vehicle that he found was a 1978 Jeep CJ-5. A 350 cubic inch, 33" tire, 4 X 4 of destruction.
One day, Scott and I decided to go and grab a bite to eat at a local Hardee's in town. Jumping in the Jeep, and firing up the engine, we took off in-search of greasy burgers, and curly fries. What could happen just going to get some fast food?
The uneventful trip took a turn south when we arrived at the end of our road. About five feet from the stop sign, still going at 35 miles per hour, I realized that something was up. Shooting through the stop sign, and coming to a stop in the adult book store parking lot across the street, I screamed my schoolgirl scream, and asked Scott if he had meant to do that? Maybe he wanted to scare the perverts that were walking into the store, as he normally did. To my surprise, the look on Scott's face told me differently.
It turned out that the breaks had failed on the Jeep, he had geared it down to slow down, and eventually the breaks grabbed, finally coming to a stop.
"Well, lets go back and get my car", I told him. His response was a flat out no, gunning the Jeep, and heading for the interstate. As I said before, he was a free spirit!
"We will be fine!" he said and we merged into traffic. Roaring down the interstate toward Hardee's, I worried about my future, and if I would live to see the next day.
Gearing down off the interstate, the Jeep came to a stop. "See, we will be fine", Scott said.
As we pulled into the restaurant, Scott decided to go in and eat, and not run through the drive-thru. Finding a stall by the front door, he pulled in, and that is when the breaks gave out again.
Slamming into the side of Hardee's at 10 mph, we finally came to a stop. With a terrified look, Scott threw the Jeep in reverse, hopped down off of the sidewalk, and parked normally in the stall.
"Do you think anyone saw?", Scott asked as I tried to regain my composure.
"I am not sure?", I told him.
Sitting in the tall Jeep, we could not see any damage to the building, or the Jeep. Scott decided that I should get out, walk through the main lobby, decide not to get anything, and that he would pick me up on the other side. We would drive off, and no one would know what we did.
As I got out of the Jeep, I noticed the giant hole in the side of the building. Standing in amazement, Scott asked me what was wrong. I couldn't get anything out. The brush guard on the Jeep had punched a hole in the side of the building that was the size of a Volkswagen.
"Just walk in!", Scott yelled.
As I started towards the door, all of the workers, and customers started to run from the building. Running outside to see what happened, they saw Scott sitting in his Jeep, smiling his usual smile. "How is everybody today?", Scott asked. "Boy, am I hungry!"
The manager escorted us inside, and asked us a number of questions, got Scott's insurance information, and to our surprise and gave us a ton of free food. (Scott said that we should run into the building all the time!)
The manager explained to us that where we hit the building, was his office. He said that it sounded like a train was coming through the building. He was actually worried about some of the elderly customers, and their hearts.
We finished our food as we waited for the tow truck, and for a ride from my mom.
Well, the Hardee's is now a Burger King, Scott lives in Alaska, and the Jeep was totaled a couple of years ago during Scott's pilgrimage to the Great White North. (He took out an entire RV with it!) But, if you ever visit Burger King today, please look to the right of the door. You will see a spot in the wall that is a shade darker than all of the other wall. That is the reminder of my friend, and of the friendship that we will always have.
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