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FRESH YARN PRESENTS:

Mother Trucker
By Wendi Aarons

PAGE TWO:
Once inside the truck, I shakily sat down and tried not to think about the duct tape/seatbelt securing me to my seat. The boys looked at me and smiled. Sarah looked at me and grinned like a madwoman. I realized then that she'd probably been secretly going to monster truck jams for years. The wench. Then the driver of the monster truck, who looked exactly like the driver of a monster truck, stuck his head through the back window and asked "Are y'all ready?" I took that to be Redneck for "Gets yoselfs right with God," and looked for my husband to tell him I loved him. And that he should start taking pictures immediately for the upcoming lawsuit. I hoped he would see me in the truck and be proud of me for overcoming my fears. Proud of me for letting our kids stretch their wings. But if he was, I didn't find out. He was busy getting Pennzoil stickers.

With a primal roar, "Major Thrust" then sprung to life and suddenly, we were flying across the parking lot like we were The Bandit, and the Alabama Smokies was on our ass. I'm not sure how fast we were going, exactly, but there were probably some G-forces involved. At first it was exhilarating, the way a roller coaster is the moment before you puke up your churro. The boys looked delighted. Sarah looked orgasmic. Then the driver abruptly slammed on the brakes, apparently trying to stop on a dime he'd seen lying on the pavement, and the truck came to a complete, shuddering stop. As we rocked back and forth from the jolt, our heads spinning, he stuck a fake steering wheel through the back window and yelled "Oops! Think I might need this?" I started to yell back that this wasn't the goddamn Blue Collar Comedy tour and could he please just get this Confederate torture ride over with, but by then we'd already started performing a series of nauseating, high-speed "doughnuts". (Which, in case you aren't from a town with a Dairy Queen, are 360-degree spins accompanied by yells of "Whoooo-wheeee!") At this point, the boys' screams became more of the silent, pale variety. Sarah seemed to be re-evaluating her life choices. And I was frozen in position with one arm over each of my boys, insanely hoping my untoned biceps could stop centrifugal force. Oh, it was wonderful.

And then, with a growl and a squeal, we spun out of our last doughnut, streaked 50 feet over to where we'd started and came to a final, jarring stop. I cautiously opened my eyes and did a quick body count. Incredibly, we had all survived. Even more incredible, barring any as-yet-undiagnosed internal injuries, we all seemed to be fine. We got out of our seats and staggered down the stairs to the pavement. Then the realization of what we'd just done hit me and I started to giggle hysterically. We were alive! I was alive! I mean, I was alive, man! I'd stared death in the face and the ugly bastard blinked! I went against every motherly instinct in my body and my kids were still OK! OMG! This was awesome!

"Wasn't that AMAZING?" I screamed. "Didn't you just LOVE IT? SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!! MONSTER TRUCK RALLY!! BE THERE!! WHOOOO!!!"

The boys simply stared at me blankly, then ran over to the unsupervised bounce house. Sarah stared at me with fear in her eyes, then ran over to the $7 a bottle Miller Beer stand. Well, fine, I thought. So they don't appreciate what we've just done. No problem. The important thing is that I now realize it's sometimes good to venture out of your comfort zone. To shake up your life a little. That sometimes the best thing for your soul comes in the form of a non-street-legal monster truck with 60" wheels. Happy with my newfound wisdom, I slowly walked into the oil fume-filled sunset knowing that from that moment on, I'd live life a little differently. Does that mean I'll ever go on another monster truck ride? Oh, good God, no. I'm not a moron. But what it does mean is that the next time I use a Porta-John, I'm going to touch the door handles. With my bare hands.




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