[A.T. RockDriller]

You guys are bringin back a few' laughs from the past 'for me, too.

I was helping a few friends demo a drill rig for sale to some folks in Tillamook some years back. Me being eternally lucky by nature....drew the short straw....which gave me the privilege of piloting the Mud Truck (a 1968 C-60 with a 427) through the farm country and over the coast range to present it to the soon to be new owners. (the key to a sale is a successful demonstration....and some alcohol with lunch)
Anyway, the week before this sale, the shop guys had worked on the rig to prepare it for the demo....fixing all the little problems that might cause bigger problems. The only thing they had failed to repair was the serious backfire on deceleration...and I mean serious.
That muthu would knock ya on your tail if you were anywhere behind the cab.
I was at the tail of the convoy to the coast, and we were making our way through North Portland ...a short-cut to our destination....when we all turned down a seedy backstreet with a bunch of young "Gangsta's" on both sides of the street.
Well, I just had to do it....I held the R's up for a few seconds, and instead of shifting up, I let go of the pedal.
The concussion was deafening to me, and wasn't wasted on just my old ears, either.
Those fellas musta been feeling a bit jumpy, because every one of them were quite sure that that round was meant for them. Not one was in sight by the time the echo died out.
As you might guess, I took "Pot-shots" at anything that moved all the way to the beach.