The Need for Speed

The best of the boys on the Formula One circuit have nothing on my family. I have distinctly amusing memories of the first time Hubby sat in the passenger seat with my Dad driving as they sped along at the Bayview extension during rush hour. I’m not sure what the actual speed limit is on this patch of road and, more to the point, neither does my lead-footed father.

Although I’ve only driven with BBS once or twice, I was a frequent passenger in my other brother’s car. BBA was always famous, at least in my mind, for driving like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were after him. Of course, I think part of that was just to see how crazily he could drive before I finally broke down. I’m proud to say I never did.

I, myself was once cruelly pulled over on my to work at Company C doing 40 or 45ish miles over the limit. But it certainly wasn’t my fault! If they didn’t want people to speed why would they make the road delightfully flat and straight? I still think the ticket was bogus because the cop… err... kind officer, was coming in other direction when he spun around to pull me over. If I had cried, do you think they would have waived the $100+ ticket? I was only going fast because I was driving my friend Lady C to work and I didn’t want her to be late. (Did anyone buy that excuse? Yeah, well neither did the mean ticket giving cop!)

This, of course, brings us to Mother Dearest (aka Merthyr). Shortly before Hubby and I got married, Mum drove me to work in our old station wagon: the GrizMobile. The Griz was a 10+-year-old rusting car with an engine that purred more sweetly the faster you drove. Well, there we were on the 401 when we saw the flashing lights behind us. The officer that pulled us over simply couldn’t believe that the Griz was the one he clocked at 140 km/h that he let us go without a ticket.

But in June of 2005, this desire to go fast finally caught up with my poor mother. Not wanting to pay the horrible and probably *mostly* unjust ticket my mother opted to fight The Man. This of course took over a year - her court date was yesterday.

Now, I have not been made privy to exactly how fast Madame Speed was going but what I do know is that in spite of the fact that officer managed to show up *just* in time (D’oh!), the judge waived all the points and over $100 and she still had a bill to pay. Go Mum!!

The moral of this fable of the Typ0 clan is this: Driving fast is fun. Driving quickly is exhilarating. Just, please whatever you do, remember not to get caught next time!