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Re: It's Not Bullit...

Re: It's Not Bullit...

07/30/12 - posted by candis smyk hurlbut

Thanx for the info, Paul! I knew you would have the answer, in detail, for us.

Tim, how did you manage to drive all thru Twin Peaks Tunnel without being caught? You are lucky the statute of limitations is in your favor! Today, T W Tunnel would be shut down, and SFPD, Homeland Security, FBI, and possibly a Marine division, would have met you both forward and backward while you were still in the tunnel! The only reason they would not blast the car with you in it would be the unwanted destruction from the explosion. Your reward would be free room and board for the rest of your life! I remember the Owl service hours were one streetcar on each line every twenty minutes, but I still am surprised that not even one streetcar going the other way did not spot you and turn you in. Of course, communication was so much slower back then, and if you had kept going, you would have been long gone before the driver could report you. How long did that drive take? I remember that VWs only reached 54mph when you floored it--and you weren't driving on smooth pavement. Congratulations, I guess, on proving it once was possible to accomplish that crazy stunt!

Nipping a ride was not only illegal, it was dangerous--which you found out the hard way. I'm glad you a) are here to tell about your adventure, and b) were not injured. Sometimes I wonder how we all managed to live to 20--in some cases, 10--with all the various disobedient adventures we participated in as children.

We moved away before my first class reunion, so 2008 was the first one I attended. Roy's health, and our finances, made it too difficult to attend in 2003. Before then, I heard about another reunion after it happened. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I decided to give it a chance. I made one iron clad rule: I would be pleasant to everyone, and unless someone started and persisted with something I thought inappropriate, I would not make sarcastic comments to those I hadn't liked. I also would not bring up any old hurts, grudges, etc. to rehash; the past 45 years were not wasted with dreams of revenge, and after all, I was sure more than a few people had thought I was an obnoxious loudmouth or something. As it turned out, I really enjoyed seeing so many people I hadn't seen in 35, 40, or even 45 years. I was surprised to discover the Paul I knew and liked at Lowell, and the Paul we read here, were the same person. A very few women were lukewarm, so I ended the conversations politely, and moved on to others who weren't. One guy started in with some criticism (the "you always, you still" type), and I managed to shut him up calmly, pleasantly, quickly without the words, "And, you are still the ignorant jerk you always were." Also after all, I'm sure more than a few people thought I unfortunately was the same me! Quite a few were dead! Maybe it's something in the water, which makes being so far away preferable to living permanently in Colma.

Maybe, Tim, at least some of your former classmates are now more accepting.

Thanks, Mary-Ann, for your (always) nice comments.

Stay 'tooned everyone!

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