[TheProspector]

Okay, I'll own up... Just because this story makes my sister laugh to tears and the title of this post included "good laughs"... Sorry for the length.

Purchased my Box late last August, and in September moved from Dallas (where I'd spent the last 13 years) back to OK (where I'm from and where my family still lives). I had not yet found a job and was still settling in so in the meantime I was living with my parents, which is the same house they've lived in since I was 5. Mind you I'm in my mid-30...

It was a drizzly Sunday and I was going to visit one of my closest friends who had just moved his wife and daughter from Houston back to OK as well. They were also living with his parents in the same house that he grew up in too. So driving to his house felt hilarious. Now 20 years later, we're both back in Oklahoma and both living in our childhood homes and once again I was driving over to his house to hang out.

I arrived at his house after "feeling my way" there since I'd made the trip so many times before but not in such a long time. We were hanging out, laughing, grilling (though again it was a little chilly and drizzly on this October Sunday) and his family was getting ready to host a bunch of his brother's friends for his 30th birthday that afternoon and watch football. After a few hours, Brad says "so let's see the Porsche". So we walked around to the front and got in. "Let's take this on the tollway!" Brad said. "No man, I saw a few highway patrolmen on my way here and it's wet. We'll just go a few miles and make a square and come back." So we started it up, and just slowly drove out of his parent's neighborhood as we talked about the car.

We pulled up to the stop sign, and took a right. I didn't get on the gas but just a little bit and drove to the first stop sign, which was about 1/4 mile away and was where the road ended due to a big country club and golf course being in the way. So we took a right and I stepped on the gas... 1st gear... tires broke loose in the rain a little... shifted to 2nd, tires still loose but I just figured they'd grab. Wrong. Wet oily road, bald tires (after post-incident inspection), and slightly bumpy pavement. This all happened in a matter of seconds. Car was loose, couldn't stop or steer and we crossed the oncoming lane (thank God no cars or peds) and blasted "BOOM" my (new to me) car through a tiny decorative wooden fence that was next to the beautiful country club entrance, into their manicured lawn, and finally came to a stop. Again, happened in seconds.

I looked over at Brad... His hands planted on the dash. "Jesus, you ok?" "No way that just happened"... No one was hurt. Great. My next thought... What the eff do I do?! I thought I was for sure stuck in the soggy lawn. Put the car in reverse and to my amazement, backed out onto the road. Still no cars were really around. Put it into 1st and slowly drove the direction we were originally headed and to the first right turn I could make back to his parent's house. We had been in the car not 4 minutes. Unbelievable.

I got out, and surveyed the damage because everything "felt" ok. No weird sounds, no misalignment... I'd hit one of the 2 foot tall wooden posts almost dead on. Splintered wood was all over my hood, top and there were dents even over the rear tire where wood flew up and landed. The worst of the damage was that the front bumper was bashed as well as my center radiator, but thankfully no fluid leaking.

Brad could not stop laughing and I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so embarrassed... We still had to limp our way BACK to his parent's house where his whole famn damily was and a birthday party was starting... OMG if I could have pushed rewind on my life right then.

It all ended fine. I immediately called the country club from his house and told them what had happened. They were so nice and just said they would fix it, no problem and thanks for calling and owning up. I was able to drive the car home that night. I found a replacement bumper, had it painted, bought a new center rad and checked everything else out. Oh, and I got new tires. I fixed it all myself and was able to get paintless dent repair on the other body panels, so it looks perfect now.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my own story...