THE CRASH
Over man and all his works,
night falls, pitiless and dark.
            ~ Bertrand Russell
In 1996, I decided to participate in the "Big Bear Bash", organized by Corvettes West and held annually in the San Bernadino Mountains at Big Bear, CA, but my drinking had started getting out of hand again, and once again I was getting behind the wheel while under the influence.

Normally, the roads to Big Bear are a delight for anyone in a Corvette, and my feelings that day were no different - I was confident after all, in my Corvette's prowess on the road, as well as in my ability to handle the Corvette.  The twistier it got the faster I went.
At last glance my speedometer was reading something like eighty-five miles per hour, with the mountain on my left and a forty-five degree drop off to my right.

The road had widened into a four lane road with two lanes in either direction, but soon was going to close back to two lanes (one lane in each direction).  There was a Ryder rental truck beside me on my left and no way did I want that slow-moving truck in front of my Corvette, so I went faster to get in front of him.

The road had some arrows painted in my lane, indicating the road was narrowing and that I must move to the left and merge with traffic, but the curve in the road where the lanes merged was rapidly approaching and I was determined to get ahead of the truck, so I sped on.

As I entered the turn the car started to get squirrely in the rear and the next thing I knew it was facing the truck beside me.  There was no indication that I was going to break 'em loose, that is, the tires never once screamed back at me to let me know that I was approaching the level of adhesion for my tires.  I hit the truck just behind the fuel tank at the steel stepwork where one enters the bed from the side - DEAD CENTER!  The momentum of the truck caused me to swing back to the right, back in the direction I was initially headed.   I was able to limp across the road to a clearing where we waited for the police to come.
There's a tradition where Corvette owners wave to each other as they pass.  Well, as I was sitting beside the road talking to the police, undergoing a sobriety check, and many of the Corvettes who were on their way to the Big Bear Bash waved at me.  Not very funny I assure you.

I spent the night in jail and took a taxi to the bash the next day.  I figured that since I was already there, and I already had room reservations for which I was going to have to pay, I may as well continue my weekend plans.  At the event dinner on Saturday night, I received the "Hard Luck" award of the event, but I wasn't there to receive it; I was too drunk and had already gone back to my room.
For the repairs, I took the car to Jimmy Tanimura, owner of A-1 Quality Auto in Gardena, CA.  Jimmy is a fellow member of The Vette Set and was also a member of Southwest Corvettes, another club of which I also was a member at the time.

The car was repaired to almost as good as new.  We lightened the color a little so that it is a little closer to the silver used for Porsches than the Corvette's "Bright Silver Metallic."  The paint's reflective metallic pieces are a little smaller as well.

Jimmy's shop is located at 396 East Compton Blvd., Gardena, CA.  His telephone number is (310) 538-3913