I'm back. I had a royal time with my king of the road uncle.
(for those that didn't miss me or have not read about my road trip plan with my uncle - suggest you read this post first)
Even if he was not about to open the door to being 81, I would not have let him drive. As they said in "Top Gun", he has a need for speed.
We were not even a block away from his house when I asked him if he had ever been a stock car driver. He had not but not surprisingly he had raced cars on the street.
We talked a little about cars and then he says, "I got my car up to 120 (mph) last year."
"LAST YEAR?" I reply with shock.
He explained he had dropped off some family members at the airport before dawn and the road was mostly empty on the way back home. His minivan can do 120.
I learned that he has speed tested every vehicle he has owned and many that he didn't own but drove. Did I mention he is 80?
Down at my brothers we got to enjoy the ATV's my brother owns. While out with my brother, our speedy uncle found out the ATV he was driving could do over 30 on a gravel road!
I'll be writing more about this trip. I will not be able to post all of his stories because a few are X rated.
The king of the road has had over 6000 stitches and was thought to have died a few times. Not all the mishaps were driving related. He worked construction and has visited a few bars during his life.
Besides the reference to the road, this song relates to the trip in yet another way.
There were very few quiet moments during our ride because he has a vast collection of stories and jokes. Before the trip, I was not sure if he would stay awake during the drive. He did.
I had brought along a collection of mixed CD's to play if he dropped off to sleep so that I would not.
At the end of one story, I popped in a CD mix of Hayes Carll who does a great cover of "King of the Road".
My uncle started singing along. I replayed it and the second time he even sang more of the song. The next day I played the song again. I'm getting him ready for karaoke. He doesn't have the greatest voice but it's fun for me to hear him sing.
I had my brother pop it into his car player and we all enjoyed my uncle's karaoke one more time down there.
We were not even a block away from his house when I asked him if he had ever been a stock car driver. He had not but not surprisingly he had raced cars on the street.
We talked a little about cars and then he says, "I got my car up to 120 (mph) last year."
"LAST YEAR?" I reply with shock.
He explained he had dropped off some family members at the airport before dawn and the road was mostly empty on the way back home. His minivan can do 120.
I learned that he has speed tested every vehicle he has owned and many that he didn't own but drove. Did I mention he is 80?
Down at my brothers we got to enjoy the ATV's my brother owns. While out with my brother, our speedy uncle found out the ATV he was driving could do over 30 on a gravel road!
I'll be writing more about this trip. I will not be able to post all of his stories because a few are X rated.
The king of the road has had over 6000 stitches and was thought to have died a few times. Not all the mishaps were driving related. He worked construction and has visited a few bars during his life.
Besides the reference to the road, this song relates to the trip in yet another way.
There were very few quiet moments during our ride because he has a vast collection of stories and jokes. Before the trip, I was not sure if he would stay awake during the drive. He did.
I had brought along a collection of mixed CD's to play if he dropped off to sleep so that I would not.
At the end of one story, I popped in a CD mix of Hayes Carll who does a great cover of "King of the Road".
My uncle started singing along. I replayed it and the second time he even sang more of the song. The next day I played the song again. I'm getting him ready for karaoke. He doesn't have the greatest voice but it's fun for me to hear him sing.
I had my brother pop it into his car player and we all enjoyed my uncle's karaoke one more time down there.
(note the Hayes Carll is not available anymore)
19 comments:
Welcome back Lisleman - glad you made it back in one piece ... 120 miles per hour? ... at 80? ... good grief! ... the only time I've travelled that fast was in an aircraft ...
Your Uncle seems like a great character, am looking forward to hearing your stories ... it's a shame we won't get to hear the X-rated ones though ...
priceless:)
(your uncle...a national treasure)
thanks for the grins,
Jennifer
thank you - He would be very surprised to be called a national treasure. He does love to make people laugh.
He has flown in aircraft but I don't think he ever piloted one except for when his car or motorcycle turned into an aircraft on a few of those tight turns.
thanks
No fair teasing us with the X Rated stories!
Well I guess I could tell you about his "sex stone". You'll need to watch out for that.
I like REM's version
Sometimes old isn't so bad, huh!! Sounds like you had a great time!
Sounds like there was some excellent bonding.
Oh my gosh, he sounds like such a character!! I hope you've written it all down. What a great trip.
Your uncle sounds like a fun guy! Maybe he should write a guest post for your blog!
I had never heard Hayes Carll do King Of The Road. It's great! Although I'm not a huge country music fan, I adore the Randy Travis version.
Maybe I could do a video interview. thanks
I did take a few notes to remind myself of different stories.
I believe age does offer you more wisdom.
thanks
Your uncle sounds like a fascinating individual! Welcome back, glad you enjoyed your trip.
120 miles!? not kilometres!? wow.
Sounds like you had a grand time. I believe he enjoyed it and cherished it. Good to see you back and yes I noticed you were gone:)
Yes miles per hour - according to the google calculator that is a little over 193 kph. He did enjoy it and my one cousin said he will be talking about for years.
thanks
We had to learn that song in 7th grade chorus.
Not a bad song to learn but a little unusual at least for schools I've attended.
thanks
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