When I turned thirteen I decided for my birthday present I would kill myself.

Amazingly, Dusty did not complete the feat, which surprised the fire out of me. Under the circumstances, in his position I would have murderized me.

Red-headed, with a face full of spotted freckles, Jennifer Davis was a girl in my Biology class I truly wanted to perform an experiment on. Call me a little Mister Mad Scientist if you desire, but she stirred certain hormonal vibes when I spent time around her. Jennifer seemed to like me, at least the constant notes she slipped my way indicated as much. After a small dose of coaxing, I persuaded Jennifer to come to Country Comfort one Saturday morning.

After several months under Dusty's tutelege, I was crammed full of wild oats needing to be sowed. Though I did not have a driver's license, and some people told me I was three years too young to obtain one, Buck had a beat-up work truck parked in the barn. Shaded sort of like the skin tone in anime art, this once cream colored, unpretentious excuse for a jalopy, was used exclusively to haul heavy items, such as timbered trees, around the farm.

The key always kept in the ignition, the vehicle possessed dented doors, torn interior seats, tires more on the bald side than they safely should have been, missing front and rear fenders, a multi-scratched bed, and rust on the body that never improved the truck's physical appearance. The hauler lacked anything in the way of exquisite beauty.

Dusty, Buck, and Lois went to Springfield, a town thirty miles southeast of Nashville, to purchase supplies. They left me home alone not knowing Jennifer was soon to arrive.

As they departed, Dusty's last words to me were an emphatic, "Do not leave Country Comfort."

Soon after the trio pulled out of sight, and Jennifer arrived, I talked her into complete disobedience of Dusty's instructions.

"C'mon. This will be fun! I promise we won't leave the property." I assured her.

Jennifer hesitated long enough to consider my proposal then scampered to the barn with me in hot pursuit. The chase was on. She was taken aback when she realized what I had in mind.

"Whose stockpiled piece of junk is that? Is it safe to even ride in?" Jennifer asked.

This impression artiste extraordinnaire lied, "Buck's. He's teaching me to drive around here. Get in."

Without another word, or questioned glance, Jennifer yanked the door open by its handle, climbed up onto the torn seat, and slammed the door shut. I joined her behind the wheel, reached down and turned the key. A smile crossed my face when the engine coughed to life.

I looked at Jennifer and said, "We'll go down by the creek. I wanna show you something."

"Will I like it?" she asked.

"I do," I responded.

With my foot on the pedal, I was barely tall enough to see out the window with my eyes more or less looking skyward instead of straight ahead like they should have been. Completely inexperienced driving, somehow I managed to back the truck up, make a right cantor, and headed towards the woods. Jennifer giggled all the while.

Not a good judge of speed, I traveled at a quick clip down the side of a hill. I barely missed side-swiping a big oak. Jennifer thought that maneuver was hysterical. Whipping the steering wheel hard to the left, I kept going. Neither one of us had seatbelts and would not have worn them if the truck had so been equipped.

I reached the creek and pressed down hard on the brake, stopping the truck. In my haste, I jammed the transmission lever into "N," not "P," where it should have been.

I told Jennifer, "This way."

We got out of the truck while it sat there and idled. As we walked off towards what I wanted to show her, wouldn't you know the stupid thing lurched forward. I slapped both palms of my hands against the sides of my head. Hopeless, and helpless, we watched Buck's truck roll between two hickories and come to a stop wedged between them.

When Dusty, Buck, and Lois returned home from Springfield, needless to say, I got the hardest disciplining from Dusty I ever received. I knew I deserved every bit of what he gave me and much more. I also had to apologize to Jennifer's parents for my incredulous actions. Worst of all, I never got to conduct my experiment on her.

For some unknown reason after that day, Jennifer no longer wanted to do anything with moi. I wondered why?