This memory is from many years ago, when Irene and I were Seniors in High School. We both worked at McDonalds and honestly, we loved the job. We were both hard-working, enjoyed the people we worked with, enjoyed our Manager, we had fun, and we were making/saving money of our own.

When it came to scheduling, our Manager was very accommodating and would often schedule for Irene and I to work at the same time since we were quite the fast and efficient team to run Drive Thru. Doubly good for us was that both parents houses were close to one another so it was very convenient when we needed to be driven by a parent.

For whatever reason we were running late leaving the house for our shift. Or actually, Irene and/or her mother were running late since her mom was driving us to work this day.

I waited at the door of my house so as to not waste any time when they arrived to pick me up. From around the corner at Oakman Drive comes Irene and her mom. Her turn onto my street was not the usual turn into an adjoining residential street as she/they were clearly in a hurry so we wouldn’t be late.

Irene’s mom drove a 197x? emerald green Plymouth Duster. Yes, this was ‘in the 70’s,…gas-guzzlers for everyone.

I wasted no time and got in the back seat of the car along with Irene and we were on our way. Wearing seatbelts in a moving vehicle was not yet a requirement so no one did, at least for the most part. Irene’s mom took off, fast! When the light was green at an intersection, we’d careen around the corner and regain speed that was well above speed limit. Irene’s mom did not want or let us be late for our shift. So we were now on what we both labeled Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!

I remember how fun it was for Irene and I, we were just kids who didn’t yet appreciate the fragility of life, we just loved the thrill. And THIS commute to work was definitely a thrill ride!

There we were Irene and I, unbuckled in the back seat of a speeding 1970’s green Plymouth Duster. In those days, all automobiles in general had lousy suspension. This meant anyone in a moving vehicle was directly subject to gravity and centrifugal force. Oh my goodness was this ride a wild one for us. For the ride’s duration Irene and I would fling from side to side on the poorly designed (as they all were) vinyl bench seating.

Back and forth we would fly at every corner, every turn. Acceleration would be fast and deceleration would be just as fast, if not faster when brakes were applied firmly. A thrill ride is what we 17 year old’s had and we laughed and laughed. We loved it! Irene’s mom ‘drove like a maniac’, and then screamed to us to get out of the car and get to work once we arrived at our McDonalds destination.

This super fun moment in our lives was something we both always remembered and laughed about. We continued to talk about that fun adventure, the day Irene’s mom ‘drove like a maniac,’ for all of our years to come.

And Irene’s mom got us to work on time, I remember.