More Mustang Musings

That was too much fun to hear everyone’s memories, I have to add a few more.

Joe mentioned all the speeding tickets, (that car was such a cop magnet) so let’s review the first one. Springville football game, on the way home I’m following Jerms and he heads the wrong way. So I pass him, get him turned around, and then just coasting down the hill into town I get nailed. Shouldn’t there have been some good karma coming my way?

I picked up Phil, the amazing concert pianist, straight from one of his practice sessions to head to Salt Lake for a volleyball or basketball game. What’s the first thing he does? Cranks up the already pretty loud, and not exactly classical, music.

How about Tim borrowing the car for a date, only to be stuck in the driveway for most of the evening cause the thing wouldn’t go in reverse. That car was ridiculously hard to shift and to be fair Tim drove it all the time. One time I even got stuck going through the dip just up the street from my house shifting into 2nd and my cousins all came out and mocked me for ages. I’m also 100% certain I never lost a race, unless it was because I couldn’t shift, or else it was my mom’s car.

I think a lot of kids thought I was a show off, sitting in the parking lot revving the engine. Truth was that thing never would run when cold. Jeff lived near the parade route and early one 4th of July decided to leave before he was blocked in for the day. About as soon as he got out of the driveway a cop pulled him over and said he knew Jeff was trouble when he heard him revving the engine so loud that early in the morning.

How about some random thoughts and a few lessons learned?

Carefree summer to me will always mean on the lake, sand court, or up the canyon, with a little Tom Petty for good measure.

Country music will always be the mainstay for this everyday guy, but sometimes you have to crank it up a notch or two.

I still find it enjoyable to throw on the monkey suit and some tunes and spend a few hours working on a car. Though the old rule that it’s not swearing if you’re working on a car still applies now and then.

Oakley glasses are required for all outdoor activities.

I’ll never lose that thrill of acceleration, but the Grand Prix certainly doesn’t quite throw you back like the stang did. Oh and I miss driving a stick shift everyday.

I’ll also be forever concerned about living, with four little boys, on the same street I used to fly down on my way home from school.

In high school I placed too much value on innate gifts and not nearly enough on effort, desire, and persistence.

High school is all to often all about external labels. Now, even though my external labels may be impressive like father, software developer, instead of just water skier extraordinaire, it’s still what’s on the inside that counts.

Good friends are invaluable. I spent one high school year in California and that was good to get me out of my shell and I met some great people, but the guys I was hanging out with weren’t always so good. Coming back home was the best thing for me. Phil’s right, it was an amazing group of people that we went to school with.

My hope is that in one sense I’m still the same guy I’ve always been, yet in other ways not even close.  Of course the gospel of Jesus Christ is much more important to me today and the biggest differentiator.