By Steve

Pop the hood:

Last week just as I got on the 163 North (probably going to Chipotle for lunch) I saw a southbound driver pop his hood...accidentally. He was driving on the Freeway, when his hood unlatched, flew open and crashed onto the roof of his car. I did not see what happened next, going the opposite direction and all, but my mind went immediately to the time this happened to me.

I was in high school. I owned a small convertible, and although I loved the car it really was a pile of dung. A friend and I were driving together (top down) when the hood of my car flew open, hit the windshield, bent backwards and came to a halt at the palm of our hands. We pulled over safely, bent the hood back down, re-latched it and went on our way. Rather than replacing my hood, I left it on the car for the remainder of my senior year of high school. It became my year book. People took the liberty to sign (scratch) messages, thoughts and obscenities into the hood. It became a work of art. In fact, when I decided to sell the car, I bought a new hood just so I could keep the old one, where it hung in my parents garage for some time to come.

Although I'm tempted to make a point... like how a crappy car can create great memories or how a bad event can bring people together. Or how witnessing an event can bring us back to a time in our past. Or maybe how we could all do well to "check under" our personal hoods, but there is an appropriate time and place... I won't.