I believe it was mid-summer of 1986 when my wife dropped me and my 4 year old son (Patrick) off at the foreign car repair shop to pick up my 1972 MGB. It was not uncommon to have the MGB in the shop as anyone every owning a British sports car would know. This was a Friday night and the traffic was congested as it was most nights but always on Friday. Heavy traffic seems to aggitate many people and little things set them off easily sometimes into a rage.
As I am driving home I encounter many red lights sometimes you get lucky and everything is green but not this night. Each time we would stop at a light I would glance over at Pat when I noticed he had unbuckled his seat belt. This happened numerous times and each time I would re-buckle his belt. The seat belts in the MG were easily unbuckled even for a 4 year old. Having to buckled Pat's seat belt at every light caused me to get a slow start from the light a number of times and this annoyed the driver behind me who would constantly blow his horn, not as a gentle reminder but more of an aggressive "get the hell out of my way" type blow. This happened 3 or 4 times, I'm not really sure but now it was annoying me. Sometimes you do stupid things when your frustrated and this is what happened to me. I showed him my middle finger to display my dissatisfaction with his horn blowing. That was really stupid, don't ever do that. Well that's all it took to send him over the edge. As we took off from the stoplight he repeatedly ran into the back of my MG (around 4 times) as we are driving down highway 94 actually pushing my MG with his station wagon. He began waving at me with a closed fist then pointing to the side of the highway wanting me to pull over, I guess he wanted to have meaningful discussion about driving. Thanks for asking but I'll pass up this debate opportunity.
I decided the best approach was to speed ahead to get away from him, in doing this we passed a number of other cars, which I frantically waved at, hoping for some assistance but what could they have done, nothing really unless Clark Kent was in one of the cars. Anyway, we rapidly sped down the highway (well above the speed limit) quickly approaching my street which I made a conscious decision not to turn in to it, this guy chasing did not need to know where I lived. There was an Amoco station across the highway from my house which was the only public place on south 94 at that time. I decided I would turn into the station because Hwy 40 was only a short distance after the station and turning on 40 would not make any sense at all.
Now my MGB was not necessarily a reliable car to start in the morning but when it's running it sits low and corners on a dime. As luck would have it there was no traffic coming the other direction when I did my high speed turn into Amoco tires squealing all the way. I failed to mention my son (Pat) is sitting quietly still buckled in his seat, he probably feels like we're on a Six Flags ride. I pull to a quick stop in the station and immediately jump out of the car but as I'm getting out I grab a screw driver from the bag of tools I have under the front seat, remember this is an MG and all MG drivers have tools with them at all times. I tell Pat to stay in the car, knowing the guy is after me not Pat.
The angry guy chasing me in the station wagon pulls in next and he jumps out of his car and starts chasing me around the building. I pull the screw driver out to hold him at bay, throw a couple of aggressive jabs (never intending to connect) so he knows I'm serious about protecting myself. He immediately slowed down a little after that. Another car pulls in the station, one of the cars we passed and I waved at for help. We have now done one lap around the building and I go inside to tell the attendant to call the police, he says" I already did". My new found friend follows me in the store now we are circling the food displays inside. Finally, the police arrive and I feel much better but still pretty wound up. I go outside to check on Pat and he is now standing in the drivers seat with his hands on the steering wheel making engine noises and pretending to drive like his Dad. I use the phone at the station to call home but I'm so flustered that I tell my wife (Mimi) that I'm at a Shell station even though I can see my house from the Amoco station. Mimi calls her brother Bud to ask him to go find me at the Shell station well of course he can't because I'm at an Amoco station.
The police take statements from me, the guy chasing me, the attendant and a witness that saw us racing down the highway. The attendant only seen what went on at the station so his comments were short, pretty much just saying the big guy chased the little guy around the building. The police asked me if I had a screw driver I said "Yes" and showed it to them, then they ask if I wanted to press charges and I also said "Yes".
Holy Crap! This feels like some out of body experience. The police let both of us go he left first then Pat & I left and drove across the highway to my house. The rear of my car was banged up pretty good but we weren't hurt. Everyone at my house was in a panic not knowing what was going on and my brother-in-law Bud had frantically searched all the Shell stations looking for me. My adrenaline was still flowing at a high rate but I was finally starting to calm down. What a night, glad it's over, there is more to come but you'll have to wait for Part 2 of this story.
As I am driving home I encounter many red lights sometimes you get lucky and everything is green but not this night. Each time we would stop at a light I would glance over at Pat when I noticed he had unbuckled his seat belt. This happened numerous times and each time I would re-buckle his belt. The seat belts in the MG were easily unbuckled even for a 4 year old. Having to buckled Pat's seat belt at every light caused me to get a slow start from the light a number of times and this annoyed the driver behind me who would constantly blow his horn, not as a gentle reminder but more of an aggressive "get the hell out of my way" type blow. This happened 3 or 4 times, I'm not really sure but now it was annoying me. Sometimes you do stupid things when your frustrated and this is what happened to me. I showed him my middle finger to display my dissatisfaction with his horn blowing. That was really stupid, don't ever do that. Well that's all it took to send him over the edge. As we took off from the stoplight he repeatedly ran into the back of my MG (around 4 times) as we are driving down highway 94 actually pushing my MG with his station wagon. He began waving at me with a closed fist then pointing to the side of the highway wanting me to pull over, I guess he wanted to have meaningful discussion about driving. Thanks for asking but I'll pass up this debate opportunity.
I decided the best approach was to speed ahead to get away from him, in doing this we passed a number of other cars, which I frantically waved at, hoping for some assistance but what could they have done, nothing really unless Clark Kent was in one of the cars. Anyway, we rapidly sped down the highway (well above the speed limit) quickly approaching my street which I made a conscious decision not to turn in to it, this guy chasing did not need to know where I lived. There was an Amoco station across the highway from my house which was the only public place on south 94 at that time. I decided I would turn into the station because Hwy 40 was only a short distance after the station and turning on 40 would not make any sense at all.
Now my MGB was not necessarily a reliable car to start in the morning but when it's running it sits low and corners on a dime. As luck would have it there was no traffic coming the other direction when I did my high speed turn into Amoco tires squealing all the way. I failed to mention my son (Pat) is sitting quietly still buckled in his seat, he probably feels like we're on a Six Flags ride. I pull to a quick stop in the station and immediately jump out of the car but as I'm getting out I grab a screw driver from the bag of tools I have under the front seat, remember this is an MG and all MG drivers have tools with them at all times. I tell Pat to stay in the car, knowing the guy is after me not Pat.
The angry guy chasing me in the station wagon pulls in next and he jumps out of his car and starts chasing me around the building. I pull the screw driver out to hold him at bay, throw a couple of aggressive jabs (never intending to connect) so he knows I'm serious about protecting myself. He immediately slowed down a little after that. Another car pulls in the station, one of the cars we passed and I waved at for help. We have now done one lap around the building and I go inside to tell the attendant to call the police, he says" I already did". My new found friend follows me in the store now we are circling the food displays inside. Finally, the police arrive and I feel much better but still pretty wound up. I go outside to check on Pat and he is now standing in the drivers seat with his hands on the steering wheel making engine noises and pretending to drive like his Dad. I use the phone at the station to call home but I'm so flustered that I tell my wife (Mimi) that I'm at a Shell station even though I can see my house from the Amoco station. Mimi calls her brother Bud to ask him to go find me at the Shell station well of course he can't because I'm at an Amoco station.
The police take statements from me, the guy chasing me, the attendant and a witness that saw us racing down the highway. The attendant only seen what went on at the station so his comments were short, pretty much just saying the big guy chased the little guy around the building. The police asked me if I had a screw driver I said "Yes" and showed it to them, then they ask if I wanted to press charges and I also said "Yes".
Holy Crap! This feels like some out of body experience. The police let both of us go he left first then Pat & I left and drove across the highway to my house. The rear of my car was banged up pretty good but we weren't hurt. Everyone at my house was in a panic not knowing what was going on and my brother-in-law Bud had frantically searched all the Shell stations looking for me. My adrenaline was still flowing at a high rate but I was finally starting to calm down. What a night, glad it's over, there is more to come but you'll have to wait for Part 2 of this story.
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