Wow, great stories. Some of you know that John and I go WAY BACK, 43 years. So I'd like to share a story from the year that we met.
It was Februrary and he calls to invite me to the lake. We were 2 skinny teenagers 14 and 15. Early the next morning John and his dad are in a bread truck in front of my house to pick me up. For those in the know, bread trucks never have more than 2 seats and they were occupied. All I can see is cardboard boxes. So I throw myself on the boxes and off we go. Bread trucks aren't conducive to conversation at highway speeds. So I'm thinking cold, rainy, noisy uncomfortable bread truck full of boxes, what the hell kind of lake trip is this.
Next we arrive at the lake. After I extricated myself from the truck, it was time to unload. Things got better when John opened the back doors. Just inside were 2 dirt bikes. Hot dog. Get the bikes out then things get worse. All the boxes were full of a modern cone shaped fireplace and the necessary chimney components for a complete installation. That's when I find out, if there's time AFTER we install the fireplace, we can ride. Of course John wanted to show me the family's boat. Mr. G allowed that for a bit while he shuffled boxes into the house. Well that's when John and I set out for a "three hour cruise". And as skinny teenagers will do, we smoked cigarettes. When we pulled up to the dock, Mr. G was none too pleased. Standing on the dock I watched John's dad go from peaved to genuinely pissed off. Why? Because not only had we been gone for hours he seemed to know we were smoking. How? Well one of the butts we tossed landed on the boats wet soft top. Stupid teenagers.
That evening, still having done no work, John and I were given the job of burning the boxes. We made a pile 15-20 feet high in the drizzle. A little accelerant and poof, nice fire. At the time a bunch of bikers were in the next house having a big time. We were enjoying the heat from the fire when all hell broke loose. The bikers come screaming at John and I with blankets. It seems from their vantage point the steam coming off our wet selves with the fire in the background we looked to be ON FIRE. Scared the hell out of John and I, but we survived our rescue.
The next morning we got on the bikes for just a short ride. I can't imagine pushing my luck this far with my dad. Well the short ride went 140 miles of dirt,only crossing paved roads. Actually one of my best days offroad. When we got back it was dark and Mr G had gotten the fireplace in. Time to load up and head home. Thank goodness for the acoustics in the bread truck John Sr. didn't waste his breath. This was our First Great Weekend together. Who knew it would be limited to just 2,236 more. Thanks John for all the memories.
I still have a souvenir from that day. We toured Lay Dam that day. When the tour guide wasn't looking, I procured the "hammer" from the "break glass in case of fire" alarm. Hopefully Alabama Power has replaced it by now. I'd hate to be responsible for burning down Lay Dam.
