MUD!

I came across this picture today, and it reminded me of some of the fun I have been in before. It makes me think back mostly to a time just after high school. I was at home on summer break from college, and my buddy had some time off from his naval duties. In order to hide his identity from all you whacko’s out there I will endearingly refer to him as Wackinoffee.

Wackinoffee had an old Bronco. So old it was one of those with a removable top. This sucker was decked out with nice velvety carpet in the main cab. Thoughtfully nestled in between the sun visors was a built in console for a CB radio that also moonlighted as a PA system. The tires were extra large and of the muddin' type, and the upgraded suspension only allowed you to hear the mud beckoning to you that much clearer. This baby never purred down the road, it roared.
On a few different occasions we took the monster where it belonged – in the mud. There were a few times when we thought that it wasn’t living up to its standards but for the most part we were impressed with its muddin’ abilities. If you saw the picture above though, then you know where this is going.

It was a long stretch across an open field with stretches of mud interspersed along the dirt path. It called to us like a beauty in distress. The best part of this run from our perspective was the speed at which this could be conquered. Off-roading in the mud can be done fast or slow, but it depends on the course. How many turns? How many hills? How deep is the mud? Etc. This course though was a pretty flat dirt road with gentle turns that could be maneuvered at high speeds while even in a bit of a fish tail.

The mud puddles were exciting because they were just big enough and deep enough to allow for some mud to really be displaced. We were speeding through it pretty fast when Wackinoffee saw a “puddle” that was more like the distance across the Sahara. In that tiny moment he hesitated. That’s all it took – one split second hesitation – and we sunk to the axels about three quarters of the way through. It was at this point that Scootypuff Jr. and I thought everything was funny. At least until we had to get out and push.

That son of a b*tch bronco had dug in like an Alabama tick, and there we were behind it letting it spray mud on us like we were its little whipping boy. After an hour of trying to get the thing out, and hearing Scootypuff Jr.’s dislike of the situation I decided there was nothing left to do but get my two wheel drive Nissan pickup and pull it out. Believe it or not but it pulled it out with very little effort. Of course in the process I ended up getting mud all over everything. My truck had mud inside the air vents until the day I got rid of it. The mud on myself and my friends was easily washed off with a quick dip in the local private neighborhood pool … at around dawn.

I am sure that there are parts of the story that I remember incorrectly, but the moral of the story is this: I find that as I get older, I love to reminisce about things from my past. But why do I not reminisce about things in my recent path. Well a couple of thoughts. First deals with the theory of relativity (sort of). The farther away the occurrence gets the better the story gets. But second, and more importantly, the older you get the less likely you are to do something stupid that would make for a good story. This is due largely in part to wisdom, but also in part to not wanting to get dirty. The moral of the story is this: Take the opportunity to jump into fun stuff. I am always in a hurry to do something. I need to slow down and look for these opportunities. Bridges to jump off, mud to play in, and swings to swing on. Live life the fun way!