Years long gone...

I racked my brain for hours trying to think of a story that my family tells often, when it finally struck me, we don't speak of years past and their tales. I can't say that I am upset by this fact, most of us have lives, work, school, basically more important things to do than to sit around spinning yarns of years long gone. The practice of just sitting and talking with family often, i'm sad to say, has all but gone the way of the Dodo. As our lives become faster paced and more jammed for time our down or slow time to spend with each other dwindles more each passing day. This being said I have a story from my childhood that I feel is worth recapping.

I believe I was about 15 years old, it was summertime, my entire family was out in the yard doing lawn work. I was asked to back up the family car, which was a white Ford Taurus, just a few feet so the grass could be mowed around the edge of the driveway. I entered the vehicle, started the car hearing the pathetic hum of the V-6 engine, placed the vehicle in reverse and proceeded to lightly press the gas. I haven't ever figured out what happened next but the vehicle went to full throttle in reverse, I narrowly missed my mother luckily because if I hadn't I would have struck and probably killed her. In a flash I was plowed into the large pine tree which stood obnoxiously close to the driveway, wheels still spinning and my father screaming at me to shut the car off.

Now for a funny twist, my younger brother James who must have only been 12 at the time was using the riding lawn mower when he heard the commotion. He stopped the mower and jumped off to come investigate what was going on. Apparently he forgot to engage the parking brake and the mower rolled quickly through the yard, down the hill and coming to rest in the middle of the highway that runs near the family home! No one was injured in the entire scenario and "years later" we all laughed it off.

Word Count: 370
Character Count: 1932