The Old Gory Brook Road (mis)Adventure
This is a continuing series of stories about growing up in the magical village of Tarrytown, New York during the mid 20th century, and my life at 27 Cottage Place.
Previous posts have covered a variety of Tarrytown topics as well as a genealogical trip to Italy to search for our Italian ancestors who settled in Tarrytown. This blog features one of the stories in my "Top 20" list of stupidest things ever done.
Oh, the things we do to impress our women folk.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, there were two young men, Eugene Bernald, and Peter Barbella. They were pretty good friends then, and, truth be known, still are today. Back then, they both had a small crush on one Rosemary Brana, one of Tarrytown's most attractive young girls.
Now the reason Bernald had the crush was that Rosemary's father had a very successful business, Green County, and had lots of money. That's something that attracted Gene.
The reason Barbella had the crush was that Rosemary's father made the best Pepper and Egg sandwich on the planet. Surely that skill had been passed down to his daughter. That's something that attracted Peter.
One cold winter day they schemed up a plan that would be sure to impress the young lady. They were going to show her what adventurous men they were and how skilled they were at handling a state-of-the-art automobile.
It seems that Gene's father had, somehow, acquired a four wheel drive vehicle. Certainly not the first of its kind, but a rare beast for those days, nonetheless. Gene's Dad was going to try to sell it for a friend but he made the unwise decision of letting Gene drive it. The first thing Gene did was to unhook the speedometer cable. The first mistake Gene made was to let Barbella drive it.
In any event, here they are, tooling around town in this fancy machine. They decided that they were going to impress MS Brana using this vehicle. They were going to drive it down Old Gory Brook Road.
Now at the time, Old Gory Brook Road was a dirt path which ran from somewhere in Briarcliff to Bedford road in North Tarrytown. The road came out right around Rosemary's house.
It had been a very cold winter and the road was under two to three feet of snow. The adventurers were going to drive the car down the road, come out at Rosemary's house, beep the horn, and let her know how magnificent and skillful they were to drive a vehicle on the unplowed road. This achievement was going to move us far up on her esteemed list of great guys in town.
The plan began wonderfully. They boys got the car to Briarcliff and found the entrance to the dirt road. They put the car into four wheel drive and began, driving cautiously and slowly. Bernald certainly did not want to bring a wrecked car home to his father.
Everything was going great. They were about half way to Rosemary's house when they began to descend a steep section. At the bottom of the hill the driver stalled the car. Now, who was the driver? This was a contentious point in a recent discussion. Bernald blames Barbella, and, of course, Barbella blames Bernald. The reader must decide for himself but it should be known that at age 70, Barbella still has all his marbles and Bernald is in the early stages of Dementia.
In any event, all four wheels got stuck at the same time. They could progress no further. No problem! The boys were industrious and had packed shovels and sand into the back of the vehicle. They were prepared.
But alas, no amount of shoveling or sanding seemed to help them out of their precarious situation. The car would not proceed.
A decision had to be made. Bernald set out on foot to find a tow truck. Otherwise his father was going to kill him. Barbella stayed behind with the car. He didn't want to be seen walking past the Brana residence with his tail between his legs.
After a half hour or so, Barbella tried to move the car again. Somehow he got it rocking back and forth and managed to free the car. He got it moving up the hill and with great elation began finishing the journey on his own. Oh how stupendous would be the accolades he would receive for saving the day.
Sadly, the car stalled once more, on a flat section of the road,no less, just tenths of a mile from the goal, and this time, the battery decided that it was out of electrons. Barbella's ego deflation could be heard as a hissing sound for miles around. Now there was nothing to do but wait for Bernald to arrive with the tow truck driver.
To this day Bernald and Barbella wonder if Rosemary was looking out her window as they went by, hooked to the tow truck. They wondered if she could see the two cold and wet idiots trying to hide their faces. To this day Bernald and Barbella wonder how it is that they survived the staggering stupidity of their youth.
By the way, the names in this story are fictitious, to protect the innocent.
