The Drag Strip

My parents decided to move to the big city my senior year. We had lived in a small town all my life. I wanted no part of starting a new school especially in the city and especially my senior year. A new plant moved to town the year before and I became good friends with the manager's son. His parents agreed to let me stay with them my senior year. I was thrilled, as they had just built a brand new home and bought their son a new car. That was my wild year.Paul and I experimented with alcohol, cigarettes, chasing women and drag racing. He  loved for us to go drag racing in his new car. One Sunday we went to the dragstrip races in his mamma's Delta 88. It was a great family car but by no means a dragster. When we arrived at the dragstrip, Paul said he was going to register for the next race.  I was shocked and went and took a seat in the packed bleachers. Paul finally pulled to the starting line next up to a really souped up and official dragster. Then the announcer said, "Boy, does your Daddy know you have his family car here today?" Then he fired the starting gun. I believe the real dragster was half way down the track before Paul even got off the starting line. Paul's dad did not know where we had the car cause if he did he would have killed us. Eventually Paul's dad had to become  very strict. He could smell the car keys and  tell if we had been smoking. Then he started checking the tire tread on all his cars for excessive wear such as drag racing. It was not long before Paul was going to a military academy in Miami. Paul's parents were some of the finest and strongest Christians I ever met. I was deeply honored to be a pallbearer at both of their funerals. i will always be grateful to them for letting me finish school in the town where I started . Paul is grown now and has kids. He turned out to be a role model as well.