May 18, 2009

Famous last words

Originally published November 11, 2003

When Recondo 32 and I were driving to Blood Mountain, I kept noticing those little crosses and flower garlands on the side of the road, where someone had died in a car wreck. "Did you know that those monuments are against the law in the state of Georgia?" I asked.

"WHAT?" Recondo responded. He's damn near deaf now.

"THOSE LITTLE CROSSES AND GARLANDS THAT MARK WHERE BARBIE AND KEN GOT KILLED IN A CAR WRECK! THEY ARE OUTLAWED BY THE GEORGIA DOT!" I replied, at the top of my lungs. "DID YOU KNOW THAT FACT?"

"Oh, those things. I try to be really careful when I see them. I figure that it's a sign of bad stretch of road ahead."

"What do you think are the last words most people say before they die in a car wreck?" I asked.

"What?" Recondo replied.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE LAST WORDS MOST PEOPLE SAY BEFORE THEY DIE IN A CAR WRECK!" I yelled.

Recondo smiled. "The right answer is probably "OH, SHIT!" but I know what I said as a boy in South Carolina in a souped-up hot-rod doing crazy things on the road at night."

"What was that?" I asked.

"Hold my beer and watch THIS," he said.

I couldn't argue with that one. Been there, done that too many times.