Page 6 Mark Owens stars in "Parking Lot Warrior' by Mark Owens It was 20 to nine on an ordinary school morning and if I didn't move fast I knew wouldn't get a space. (Parking at school can be a real pain at times. Last week I nearly took out an ROTC group out for a morning jog trying to beat a Buick for a spot). I jumped in my car and cranked the engine to life. I backed out of the driveway at 35 mph and tore down the street,' spitting gravel and nearly hitting' my paper boy. My neighbor Larry stood on the sidewalk and gave me a solemn salute. He knew what I was up against. A minute later I had picked up my friend John and turned towards Behretxl. Driving across town was easy compared to what was waiting for us. The other drivers had no idea just how easy they had it. I said as much to John. "Yeah, right, you notice they're headed towards the city. At least they have meters. Wimps." ~.. _. i -. ~..,...,,~;,,,.5,,..k.. ~.. S .. r Mark Owens I agreed and reached for another can of Jolt. Some people think it's not good for you, but there are times when a man needs a higher level of consciousness. This was one of those times. At the base of Cooper Road, we entered Zone One. I zipped my flak jacket while John buckled his helmet. Glancing at my rear view mirror, I saw a '79 Monte Carlo coming up fast. Without even turning down the stereo, which was blasting the Beastie Boys' latest release, I reached over to thumb a switch on the dashboard. There was a bang from the back of my car and ten gallons of Cheez Whiz poured out onto the mad. The Monte skidded and swerred in the slippery yellow ?goo, finally nose-diving into a ditch. I pushed the pedal to the floor and my Nissan station wagon surged up Cooper, trying ito put some distance between us land the baby blue Pinto that had ;taken the, Monte's place. We crested the hill and I looked back to see the Pinto suddenly put on a burst of speed and move out to the left lane. As the car got closer I could hear a rumbling hiss which could mean only one thing: ram jets. I told John to do something. He did. As the Pinto passed us and moved back into the right lane, I moved over to the left. John rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a small grappling- 141814010 Baikal° eggthrott TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 71z° PENN ST Sponsored in part by: The Behrend College SCUBA Club PILL OUT ENTRY BLANK...NOW OR BEFORE THE GAME hook cannon. He took aim and fired. The hook shot out towards the Pinto with 50 yards of steel cable snaking behind it. The hook caught the base of the ram jet. John shot the secondary hook into a huge oak tree and detached the cable from the gun. "Watch this," he snickered. PITT 4;.. NAME ADDRESS PHONE # The cable grew taunt as the Must Be Present To Win The Collegian Thursday, November 16, 1989 The Missing Pieces Pinto raced ahead. The car was yanked up on its rear wheels. The Pinto, not the world's most stable motor vehicle, tumbled end-over-end down the road. I sped along right behind it, swerving to avoid the red-hot pieces of metal littering the road. The Pinto came to a halt in front of me and I slalomed the station BEHREND vs. BRADFORD BE THERE FOR ... EPSI-• COLA NIGHT uk. ' l / 4 4 0 OFFICIAL ENTRY BLANK aIIINCE To ww • SONY TELEVISION - HUFFY BICYCLE 4%. Aws or'4 4/1 1 E-0149.95/ eg misonir ro wtn) (MUST wagon around it and raced to the end of Cooper. The guy on the Moped wasn't so lucky. Oh well. We hung a right at Cooper and headed up Station Road. There wasn't a lot of room to maneuver and no place for other cars to cut us off. We reached the top of the hill (continued on page 7) 406,0. c, it - o i . Of i Of 6: , /h e 1 9. & ' Q,, -6! sif