Editor’s note – With the publishing of today’s blog, there are now 42 blogs left in the Letters From The Past Series.
Many years ago when I had no more than a year or two on my driving record, I managed to pick up a drill bit in my tire on the way home from a movie. As I pulled into the local inconvenience store to change that bad boy, I made a startling realization.
My car didn’t have a jack.
As easy as it would have been for me to grab the bumper, lift the car, and have my brother change the tire, I couldn’t do that.
My brother was afraid I would drop the car on him.
What a cry baby.
None the less, we hit the pay phone and called Mom. She showed up shortly in her Delta 88 (diesel), complete with a bumper jack.
That’s right, I said bumper jack.
You don’t see those anymore because bumpers aren’t made to support lifting a car like they used to be.
When all was said and done, the tire was changed and I would forever have a justifiable reason for buying the road hazard warranty with any new tire I should purchase.
So I told you that story to tell you this story.
The new recliner is working out nicely. Lately I’ve taken to plopping in it with my laptop and noise canceling headphones to enjoy a recumbent orientation and whatever personal computing could offer.
As I sat there and did my thing yesterday, it occurred to me that I had never seen the pilot episode of The Incredible Hulk series which featured Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno.
The Internet, as we all know, is a wonderful thing. As such, I decided to go look it up on YouTube.
I found it, but have yet to watch it. One thing I did watch though, was an eight minute snippet of footage which showed us the first time the Hulk appeared.
In that footage, we watch David Banner (that’s what he was called in the series) go through the experiment where he would expose himself to gamma radiation.
There was nothing to write home about in this part. The experiment didn’t give him the super human strength he was looking for, so he deemed it a failure.
Banner subsequently gets pissed off and goes home. As he’s leaving the office, the rain is coming down. This bunches his panties up a little further.
Naturally, any real good storyline at this point will involve a flat tire.
I guess the show’s producers thought they were onto something, because Eddie’s father began a courtship with a road hazard and got…..
Wait for it…..
A flat tire.
Now we find the story’s protagonist and our hero changing a flat tire in the rain.
The anger builds, the eyes change color, the shirt rips, the fright wig appears, and suddenly with a crack of thunder and a flash of lightening, we have The Incredible Hulk.
Banner hulked out over a flat tire.
Really?
The last time I saw someone get in that much trouble over a flat tire incident, it was when Ralphie uttered the F word and got a mouthful of bar soap.
