“Watch the road!”
My eyes snapped up.
I jerked the steering-wheel and we popped off the center line, back into our lane. I steered
us onto the shoulder as Dave applied the brakes. Dave got out and stood, drying off his pants.
The whole situation was so ludicrous that I had to laugh.
“It's about 150 miles to the turnoff,” he paused to scratch his head, “And then ten miles to
Tioga Pass. Ten miles beyond the pass is Tuolumne Meadows.” Dave looked at me. “You know
what that means?”
“We'll be in Yosemite?” I said hopefully.
“Beer!” he reminded me. “That's what it means.” He gave our dusty steed a kick, got in and screeched the door closed.
“Got to oil that,” he informed me as I climbed in. “I need more coffee. If you can handle the car this time I'll try
to pour it without burning myself.”
“Bumps are beyond my control. Why don't you pour it before we start?”
“I've got a better idea.”
Dave turned off the engine, opened his door, climbed out.
“You drive.”
We embarked without further incident. The car pulled to the left, but the shifting was really weird.
“Its a push-button transmission,” he informed me. “Greatest thing ever invented.”
“If it's so great, why haven't I seen one before?”
“I hope you drive better than you steer.”
“I hope you learn to pour coffee,” I retorted.
My searching fingers found the source of the air on my left leg. I discovered a finger sized hole in the door panel.
“What's this?”
“What's what?”
“This hole, here.” I was pointing by my knee.
Dave craned his head to see the spot I was pointing at.
“Oh that. That's from my .357,” he said proudly, settling back on the seat.
“You shot your car with a gun?”
“What else? Wish the window had been rolled up.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Naw,” Dave said. “They didn't use safety glass. What a mess.”
“Not the window! What about the car?”
“I wanted to make sure that gun still fired,” he said.
Radio reception was terrible. We drove in silence after that.
“Hey Dave,” I said as we were coming into Bishop. “Have I showed you my stove?”
Highway 395 became, “Main Street”. Bishop straddled both sides of the highway.
