by marykmusic » Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:09 am
Dragon's story predates when we met. But that happened soon after.<br><br>The first attempt on me culminated in the summer of 2001. The brakes went out on my old S-15, in a blinding rainstorm, with my bass and equipment in the back, as I was trying a different and unfamiliar route to my gig. My kids and I lived 'way out east of Snowflake, beyond pavement, and the giant puddle on the road out was already too deep for my truck. So I got hurried instructions for the back way.<br><br>I missed a turn and could see that my track fizzled out at the bottom of the hill I was on... had to bomb across the high desert, between the junipers, with the hammer down, cross-country. Windshield wipers were definately slappin' time. I finally came across the high-tensile power lines and followed them (one hill took three runs to make) to a road. <br><br>When I got to the gig, I circled the bar's parking lot seeral times until I finally stopped... Later I traded my crippled truck to a mechanic, who told me, "You know, someone filed your brake lines in three different places!" He was astonished.<br><br>On Valentine's Day of 2003, after my boys and I had moved to Southern Arizona with Dragon, Flash and I were driving an old Camry to Phoenix for the 5-gallon bucket of resin. The plan was to make a shitload of HHG's and Tower-busters (a small version of same) for the first Sedona run. Heading north out of town, the speed limit had just become 55 mph, and the last traffic light was green. The road was clear except for a big dually pickup and horse trailer in the left-turn lane... and the brown Malibu sedan from the other direction, that suddenly turned in front of us! "We're gonna hit!" Flash shouted as I hit a panic-stop, knowing that I needed a brake job. I still managed to cut my speed in half. Neither of us were wearing seatbelts and we both hit the windshield. He nearly died later, from internal bleeding.<br><br>The 16-year-old girl maintained from the first that noone was coming. Why did she not see us? Later psychics told us that 1) she was mind-controlled, 2) we were all supposed to die, and 3) there was Angelic help or some other intervention that slowed my car down. Later my attorney said that, looking at the after photos of the Toyota, I must have been going much slower (but I'd just checked it.)<br><br>Despite my concussion, the next day I went and got another car and Dragon made 200 TB's and 7 huge HHG's (Holy Hand Grenades.)<br><br>For a basic primer on the naming of these devices:<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>A Reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 20:<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, "Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and breakfast cereals ... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>-- Monty Python, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>The boys (then aged 9 and 11) and I did Sedona on Sunday. Somone there was definately being naughty.<br><br>Since then we've improved out protective devices, and our awareness, considerably. --MaryK<br><br> <p></p><i></i>