jianantonic | On a hiking trip long ago...

I was a freshman in college and I was leading a caravan of other students home from Crabtree Falls. We took 56 over the mountain back to school, which is a very steep climb and descent, and very, very long. This was where I learned the valuable lesson of down shifting. We'd almost made it to the bottom of the mountain, having ridden the brakes several miles already, when I noticed that smoke was coming from underneath my car. I didn't know why; all I knew was that when cars catch on fire, they blow up, and I freaked. I pulled my car over, but I couldn't make it stop because my brakes had melted, so I yanked up the emergency brake and let my car gently roll into the side of the mountain to stop, at which point I flung the car door open and ran away from it, certain that the car was moments away from self destructing. But I rushed back when I realized I'd left something important in the car. Wallet? No. Purse? No. What was it? My case of 400 CD's.

Turns out I wasn't really in any danger; I was just a terrible, ignorant, and terribly ignorant driver, but it's good to know that even then, my priorities were right.

Peace.