| Author | Message | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Senior Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 5593 Registered: 8-2002 |
Pat, you're a post whore.  | ||
| Pat Pasqualini (Enzo)
Member Username: Enzo Post Number: 735 Registered: 2-2002 |
your | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 4945 Registered: 8-2002 |
Yeah, definitely, i was... | ||
| Pat Pasqualini (Enzo)
Member Username: Enzo Post Number: 659 Registered: 2-2002 |
You must have been going crazy Pat | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 3272 Registered: 8-2002 |
Or read it here... It was surely an evening i'll never forget... So soon, too, after my ride in EFWUN's 550, that it put a silver lining on the cloud i was already on... Last Thursday, Birdie and i decided to go out to eat... Never patronizing establishments that won't allow us to smoke, we usually find ourselves at a diner... Lately, our dining attendance has averted us to what we like to call, The Ferrari Diner... Parked out front, you'll see 4 beautiful cars... A black Lotus Esprit, a black NSX, a silver Ferrari F355 Berlinetta & a white Ferrari Testarossa... That there aren't accidents in front of this diner from the obvious stares these cars bring, just amazes me... In any case, the Bird and i ate and just as we finished, over walked Billy Zissis... There was no chance i was going to be able to wipe the grin off my face... He's the owner of those beautiful cars out front... We met just the other day, when EFWUN took me for a ride... Billy came over and we all talked about cars for about 15 minutes... Then he said, "Are you done eating...? C'mon, let's go for a ride..." AWESOME...! Birdie and i got up and proceeded to get our things... As he walked to the front, Billy said, "C'mon, we'll take out all of 'em..." NO WAY...! i turned to the Bird and had to ask her to repeat what he just said, 'cause there was no way i heard him correctly... Sure enough, she reiterated exactly what i thought he said... Now my heart has enough trouble pumping blood through this body, as it is... But right then, i definitely felt it skip a beat and thought i might die, right there... i fumbled with my wallet to pay the check, tip the waiter and get my fat ass outside... Billy got his keys and, one by one, started up all 4 cars... It was incredible... The engines were rumbling and i turned to Birdie and said, "Now what do you think of those silly Mustangs you hear around here...?" She just laughed and smiled... After a minute or two, Billy got into the Lotus and said, "C'mon, get in..." i almost didn't know what to do... i froze... Then the check engine light clicked on, in my head and i moved... i gave Birdie all my stuff- keys, gloves, phone, etc. and went around and slowly eased myself into the Lotus... What a car...! There's no getting in and out of this thing, quickly, but once you're in there, you feel comfortable... It's very low to the ground and definitely rates as a true exotic for anyone who might doubt it (but what do i know, right...?) He slowly pulls away, around to the exit and out of the parking lot... Easing on down the street, he pulls off to a side street and let's the car roll... The street is empty, it's passed midnight, there's not a soul around... Then he hits the gas... Chirp...! The tires make a split second of music before propelling us down the road... Billy clutches & shifts to second - Chirp...! The tires sing again, letting us know that, miraculously, we're still on the ground (you see, i thought for sure, that we were flying, by now)... The rocket effect continues... i don't know if it was the sheer power of the car or that Billy just shifts very quickly, but there was no moment where the force pushing me in the seat paused... The power in this car was intense... He clutched again, threw the car into third and the tires followed suit with another chirp... i looked in the side mirror to see the SS Enterprise, getting smaller and smaller... We were beyond warp speed... To my left, Quick Draw McGraw clutches and brings the shifter down to fourth, reapplying the gas and, yep, you guessed it, the tires chirped again... It could've been me, but it seemed like the car was getting closer to the end of the light from the high beams, but who knows... i tried looking at the speedo to see if we were at the speed of light yet, but the gravitational force of the car wouldn't allow my head to turn... The last two gears were left untouched as Billy applied the brakes and slowed down... and what did he do...? He made a u-turn... And repeated the entire process... It was intense... The Lotus is a V8 & has a twin turbo... The power in that machine was unbelievable and as we pulled into the diner, i knew i was spoiled; first a 550 and now this... We exited the car and my headache chimed in... Whoa... What a rush... He shuts the door, leaving the car running and steps away... He then says, to my totally and utterly awesome surprise, "Why don't you take your friend for a ride in the NSX..." NO WAY...! My brain stuttered... It nearly shut down, but managed to formulate some coDES, which turned out to be words... Those words, translated to my mouth, by way of synapses... Even my synapses stuttered... No surprise when my vocal chords shiverred and emitted: "Re-really...? Ar-Are you sure...?" "Yeah, yeah, go ahead, have fun...!" i turned to the Bird and her face must have mirrored mine 'cause her smile went from ear to ear... i stuttered some more, asking her to get my gloves out of her bag and she fumbled through it like i fumbled with my words... "Bi-Billy, are you sur-sure...? S-Se-Seriously...?" "Yeah, no problem, just don't go too far..." "Awesome...! No sweat...!" Birdie got in and i got in... i put my gloves on... i took a second to check out the dash and the feel of the cockpit... i was about to drive a real sports car...! i put my seat belt on and felt for the pedals... i found the clutch, depressed it, and shifted the car into first... RRRRumble, rumble, rumble, rumble... i feathered the gas a little as i slowly pulled away... Around the lot and out onto the street, i was in another world... All i kept hearing from my right was, "Oh my god... Oh my god... Oh my god..." i meant to turn off onto the same street Billy went on, with his Lotus, but i was too close to not being able to function and i passed it... After a few minutes, i came to my senses and made a u-turn... Back down the street, i turned off where Billy did and pulled over... Our collective excitement had fogged up the windows and i needed to search for the defroster... After i found it and the world slowly came into a clearer view through the windshield, i put the car back in gear and slowly rolled down the road... "Can you believe this...?" "No..." she said... & that's when i knew that if this was a dream, i better get crackin', 'cause with my luck, i'll wake up, soon... i pushed the gas pedal to the floor and the car screamed as we propelled down the road... i flipped the brights on and the car and my heart redlined in unison... Stop for a second... i can't tell you how right at home i felt in this car... Like it was my everyday car for years and years, i just melted right into how one should be, in this car... The clutch, the gas, the brakes, the stick, the steering wheel - i adapted to everything, IMMEDIATELY and a spark, deep inside me, began to flare... Ok, go back to the story. My smile tucked itself away, deep into the recesses of my face and business took over... Clutch, shift, clutch, gas, BOOM...! Second gear picked up where 1st left off... Down the road, everything on either side of us quickly dematerialized and reappeared in the rearview mirror... With no time to look at the dash, the pitch of the engine and the feeling of acceleration dictated to my senses that it was time to shift... Clutch, shift, clutch gas, BOOM...! We hit 3rd and showed no sign of slowing or stopping or anything... In the brisk night air, we were but a blur, although the rumble from the engine gave away our location... Clutch, shift, clutch, gas, BOOM...! 4th gear welcomed me with more acceleration and brought me to fifth... Clutch, shift, clutch, gas, BOOM...! We entered 5th gear but couldn't open it up much as we were approaching the turn around point... i did the same as Billy and made a u-turn and repeated the entire process... We got back to the main road and i turned to Birdie and said, "Do you mind if i do that again...?" She stuttered and laughed... "No...!" So i did... Finally, i pulled back into the parking lot where Billy stood... Revved the engine a little as i slowly rolled back to where the car was before i left... My headache and my smile were here to stay, i realized, as i got out of the car... The Bird was just one big smile with limbs and stumbled over to the side as Billy didn't miss a beat and motioned for me to join him in the 355... i floated through the air to the 355 and fumbled to find the thingie that opens the door... Finally, i found it and slowly climbed in... VRRRrrroommmm... He revved her a little and pulled away... Back down the street, onto the side road we went and he let her RIP...! BOOM...! We were flying, the engine was inches behind me, SCREEEEEEEAMING, as we flew down the road... RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREER, RRRRRRRRRRRREER, VROOM...! We were gone. If you were standing there watching us, you saw us quickly turn into a silvery, shadowy dot. If you blinked, you didn't see us at all. But slap me green and call me Gumby if you didn't hear us fade waaaaaay down the street, pausing with a rumble to u-turn and increase the sound of the engine, as we returned... HOLY ����...! Did i just return from my second ride in a Ferrari, my third ride in an exotic and my fourth ride in a sports car, all within 7 days...? i was gone... i slowly stumbled out of the 355 as she eagerly rumbled and grumbled, having just warmed up... i was gone... i stood there in disbelief, but i was gone... i wasn't sure where i was... who i was... Had i the mental capacity, i'm sure i would've questioned what i was, for at that moment, i knew nothing. Billy paused for only a moment and proceeded towards the Testarossa... The Ferrari Testarossa... One of the first cars i ever knew existed, for as long as i could remember... An exotic, plain as day, holding something, somehow, over the heads of all other exotics, in some way or another... i almost didn't get in... i thought, 'if i get in that car, i just might die from pure joy and that might cause Billy some problems...' Naaaaaaaaaaah... i could handle it... i got in and immediately knew what i was sitting in... If you blind-folded someone and sat them in a bunch of cars, they would immediately know which one is the Testarossa... There's an undeniable mystique to the Testarossa... Something i couldn't quite put my finger on... Probably 'cause i couldn't move my finger, 'cause before i knew, he was pulling out of the parking lot and he opened up those 12 cylindars... This time, we stayed on the main road, but covered quite a bit of it in little time... What a car...! The rest is kind of fuzzy... i recall pulling back into the parking lot and getting out of the car... i remember Billy opened the boot (or is it the bonnet) and was talking about the engine... i remember the air was cold, but my body temperature was sky high... i remember a pain in my cheeks i had never felt before... Damnit, if i didn't stop smiling soon, i was gonna pull a muscle somewhere in my face... Seriously, my cheeks hurt like hell and i wanted so much to stop smiling... Never in my life have i NOT been able to stop smiling... There must be a name or some type of medical term for a condition like that... Oh yeah... It's called Ferrari. Billy, i can't thank you enough... You and EFWUN made dreams beyond my wilDESt imagination come true... Before i ever had a ride in any Ferrari, my life was complete. Now it's completely starting over. Thank you so, so much. |