Brothers know the coolest tricks

I'd been visiting my brothers, Mark and Jeff, in Atlanta. As always I'd had a great time, probably more fun than the bro's did, given that I was 11 or 12, and they were 10 or 15 years older. It was kinda like hanging out with cool uncles. They didn't mind me staying up late watching TV, fed me a lot of junk food and took me to movies, did all of the cool stuff the parents wouldn't allow.

Our time, as with all good things, came to an end, and the three of us were driving down to the airport to catch my flight home. We were in Mark's boat of an Olds, which was appropriate, as it was pouring rain, the thick stuff that cuts visibility down quite a bit. The car dipped down under a bridge that had standing water, and, all of the sudden, the feel of the ride... changed.

It was like the car was floating, a sensation I enjoyed immensely, and the front of the car began wandering off to the right. Now, Mark claims that the car made several revolutions, but I only recall one. What we agree on is that the car did spin some number of times, and at a moment that the hood happened to be pointing in the correct direction, the tires got traction and we sped on our merry way.

Again, I was 11 or 12 years old, so I just assumed that what had just occurred was some kind of cool rain-driving trick that Mark broke out every once in a while. Y'know, something he was doing to send me off with some last minute fun. I suppose that when Mark looked back at me and said, 'Let's not mention this to Mom', I should have gotten an inkling that something unplanned had occurred, but I thought it was one of those brother things, like getting your first hit of weed, that was between us and didn't need to come to the parents attention.

It was about five years before I figured out how close to death we'd all come. I learned the term 'hydroplaning' and found out that a good number of people die when things like that happen. A great big 'Hmmmmmmm', indeed. I mentioned the incident to Mark, and he said he had been pretty scared through the whole thing. I'm actually glad I didn't know how scared I should have been, 'cause it seemed like an amusement park ride to me. Good times.

I did end up telling my mother about the hydroplaning when I was in my twenties. And, predictably, she threw what can best be described as a 'tizzy'. Given that it had been more than a decade, and my mother had spoken to all three of us multiple times in the intervening years, I didn't think freaking out was warranted, but, hey, she's a mom. It's what they do.