[markinnaples]

Does just doing something stupid from the get-go as a kid qualify? My buddy's dad wrecked his 302 Maverick and bent one of the front frame horns. We started taking it apart to potentially fix it, but then wanted to get an idea how much it would be to pull the frame so we just put the hood down (minus the front bumper, grill, header panel, headlights, turn signals, front core support hood latching mechanism, etc.) and drove about 7 miles to my dad's friend's shop on Brownsville Road (south hills of Pittsburgh). The drive there was pretty uneventful, thankfully, and we got the estimate. On the drive home, we stupidly took a main 4 lane road home (Route 51) instead of the somewhat less traveled 2 lane road we went on so it was already a dicey situation with added idiocy. But, what was I to do when he pulled up along side in my car and wanted to race? Sure, I nailed the go-pedal in the Maverick and got about 100 feet before the hood flew up and slammed against the windshield at about 50-55 mph. Thank God it didn't break the windshield, but slowing down with virtually no visibility was a white knuckle ride to say the least. Once I got it slowed and stopped in a parking lot, we had the laugh of a lifetime that only can be had when you're a teenager doing the stupid things a teenager with a license does. Good times.