If You Were Short ... You Couldn't Drive Pete's Car
Apologies to my brother-in-law Mark in advance ... but this is too precious not to share:
When Peter wasn't working on his car or repainting it, he would bring it to a garage where his friends would do some work on it.
Peter's neice, Marie's husband is Mark. One day, Pete called the house and asked if someone could go to the garage and pick up his car for him. Mark was home so he said yes and took a bus to the garage, got the keys and went to the car.
Now, I think here I have to explain that while Peter was 6'7", Mark is about 5'7" tall. Peter hovers a full foot at least over Mark.
So, Mark opens the car, and crawls into the seat. His feet didn't even come close to the pedals. He couldn't even reach the steering wheel. He gets back out and tries to adjust the seat, but it won't budge because the seat is soddered to the floor. Mark gets back into the car and sits on the tippy edge of the seat and he can almost reach the pedals, but now he can't see over the steering wheel.
Mark doesn't want Pete to be disappointed in him. So, he bent his legs, balanced himself behind the wheel in a crouched, half sitting, half standing position. If he held onto the wheel tightly he could push his right foot onto the gas and brake, and he could see over the steering wheel. Mark started the car up, and SLOWLY pressed on the gas with his right foot while trying to balance himself with his left while driving the car. If anyone saw him, they would have thought a baby was stealing a giant's car. He rode that way to Pete's house, hoping like hell he didn't have to slam on the brakes because he would have lost his balance and smashed the car. When he pulled the car to the curb in front of Pete's house, Mark could barely get out of the car. The muscles in his legs were so tired from being in this weird position, and his arms and neck were stiff from trying to balance himself and drive.
We always wondered if Pete was playing a joke on Mark, knowing full well that he was NEVER going to be able to drive his car. How Peter laughed when Mark told him how he drove the car. Then, whenever Pete saw Mark, he would hum and sing the words to "Short People" as a constant reminder of the adventures of Mark and Pete's Mad Max car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBrAh3OyYnI&feature=related
When Peter wasn't working on his car or repainting it, he would bring it to a garage where his friends would do some work on it.
Peter's neice, Marie's husband is Mark. One day, Pete called the house and asked if someone could go to the garage and pick up his car for him. Mark was home so he said yes and took a bus to the garage, got the keys and went to the car.
Now, I think here I have to explain that while Peter was 6'7", Mark is about 5'7" tall. Peter hovers a full foot at least over Mark.
Peter with Mark and Cathy in Staten Island
So, Mark opens the car, and crawls into the seat. His feet didn't even come close to the pedals. He couldn't even reach the steering wheel. He gets back out and tries to adjust the seat, but it won't budge because the seat is soddered to the floor. Mark gets back into the car and sits on the tippy edge of the seat and he can almost reach the pedals, but now he can't see over the steering wheel.
Mark doesn't want Pete to be disappointed in him. So, he bent his legs, balanced himself behind the wheel in a crouched, half sitting, half standing position. If he held onto the wheel tightly he could push his right foot onto the gas and brake, and he could see over the steering wheel. Mark started the car up, and SLOWLY pressed on the gas with his right foot while trying to balance himself with his left while driving the car. If anyone saw him, they would have thought a baby was stealing a giant's car. He rode that way to Pete's house, hoping like hell he didn't have to slam on the brakes because he would have lost his balance and smashed the car. When he pulled the car to the curb in front of Pete's house, Mark could barely get out of the car. The muscles in his legs were so tired from being in this weird position, and his arms and neck were stiff from trying to balance himself and drive.
We always wondered if Pete was playing a joke on Mark, knowing full well that he was NEVER going to be able to drive his car. How Peter laughed when Mark told him how he drove the car. Then, whenever Pete saw Mark, he would hum and sing the words to "Short People" as a constant reminder of the adventures of Mark and Pete's Mad Max car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBrAh3OyYnI&feature=related