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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Peace


I was out enjoying a lovely run this morning.  As I was moving up the gentle hill that emerges from Mouse Town, I noticed a POS Jimmy breaking down as it moved up the hill along side me. 

Although Mouse Town is a wildlife sanctuary, there is a major East / West Parkway that cuts through it.  This Jimmy was in the middle lane among three lanes going West.  It was obvious to me that it was no longer moving under its own power, just continuing up the hill on momentum alone. 

There were clanging-banging noises coming from the vehicle, and I was wondering why the driver wasn't pulling over.   Instead, the Jimmy slowed to a crawl and stopped at the top of the hill that was an intersection.  Conveniently, the light was red.

Soon, the light changed to green, and as expected, the Jimmy sat there.  Luckily, traffic was very light, but a few cars approached, and then went around after realizing the Jimmy wasn't moving.  Again, I was wondering why he hadn't pulled over, and now I wondered why he didn't turn on the hazard lights.  Oh well.

A young guy climbed out of the cab and tentatively started to push the Jimmy to nowhere in particular.  By then, I'd reached the intersection, so I jogged over to him, assuming he was alone and unsure how to get the car out of the way of traffic. 

Instead, I saw there was a guy with him, in the passenger seat.  Why wasn't he pushing?

"You want me to steer while you push?", I asked Young Driver.  Really, he was probably just in his late teens. 

"Uh, yeah.  Thanks", he said, smilingly.

At that point, I figured Mr. Lazy riding shotgun would get out to push too, but he continued to sit.  Fortunately, a runner guy came by and offered to help push.  Runners are just so nice, aren't they?

As they pushed, I steered the Jimmy to the side of the cross street, out of the stream of Mouse Town traffic.  As we rolled to the resting spot, I had a strange and short conversation with Mr. Lazy.

"It jus' died..."

"Yah, I know, I could hear it as you guys went by me".

"Hehe, stupid mumble mumble..."

At that point, I realized Mr. Lazy needed a name change to Mr. High.

And while it's perfectly legal to be high in Colorado, I don't think he was of perfectly legal age to be high.  Plus, it was like 7:30 in the morning.  The driver seemed to be in a more coherent state, which isn't saying a whole lot.   But he did thank me and Runner Dude while looking a bit perplexed as to what to do next.

I left them to figure it out.

"Okay, see ya", I said after setting the brake.  Mr. Lazy reached over and put the shifter into Park, his sole contribution.

"Okay, peace", he replied, making it sound more like "piss".

Then I drew Mr. Lazy/High for Illustration Friday, where the prompt is "Peace" (not piss).

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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

THAT is funny. And thank goodness it happened, 'cause what would you have drawn for "peace" (not piss) otherwise?
This made me smile after a long, hard day at work. Thanks Abby. :)

LL Cool Joe said...

What the hell is a Jimmy? Aren't you a hero going to help like that. Piss to you too. :D

Abby said...

I know, right? I had no idea how to illustrate peace-not-piss, and these guys saved the day!
You're welcome :)

Abby said...

Thanks,Joey! And a Jimmy is a crappy GMC SUV. This one was a particularly crappy specimen.

terri said...

I never really thought before what a ridiculous name "Jimmy" is for an SUV. Someone must have been smoking something when they decided on that name!

How nice of you to help these guys out. So many people would just pass on by - you never know who you're dealing with in a situation like this. These guys seemed harmless enough, except for their stupidity.

Abby said...

HA! Smoking something - then a Jimmy is the perfect vehicle for those guys. Especially one that can't be driven.

agg79 said...

That gives a whole new meaning to the old John Denver tune: Rocky Mountain High. That whole saga reminds me of the movie: Dude, Where's My Car? We've got a fewf Jimmys down here as well. Some have even been able to take the top off (aka a redneck convertible). Not sure if any Mary Jane was part of the deal but I am quite sure there was a certain amount of Bud Light or Lone Star that was involved.

Pretty noble of you and runner guy to help those poor, unfortunate travelers out. I am sure they appreciated your help (if they can remember).

Abby said...

These "dudes" were pretty laid back... veeeeery laid back, actually. I did ride my bike through Mouse Town this morning, and the errant Jimmy was gone. It's probably all a fog to the dudes.

Linda Hensley said...

I suppose you should be glad that they weren't texting while driving too? Glad their vehicle died and saved the world :)

Abby said...

Jimmy died so that we would live. Gosh, we could start a religion?

Guano said...

Shotgun Slacker just SAT there while YOU & another runner helped push the Jimmy? Bet they just ran outa gas, but man, some people's kids.....

Slackers

Abby said...

Those were exactly my thoughts! When I saw driver guy try to both push AND steer, I figured he for sures must be alone and stranded. Then I get closer and see slacker guy, and I'm all "What the heaven?"

Dear Mother of Ganja...

Ginny said...

your sketches are great! I really wish I had some artistic talent like that. I guess I should end this comment with "peace"

Riot Kitty said...

Your picture is great...but high at 7:30 am? For real?