The Power In My Hands.

My foot went to the floor. My hand held the shifter in place. I press in the clutch and down comes the shifter to second. I watch the needles climb those gauges in similar fashion. I look ahead and all around. I don't want hit anything, anyone, or get caught. I press in the clutch and shift up and to the right once. I drop the clutch hard as the gear grabs and jerks my head back into my head rest. I look to my right. The orange squatted opponent is right next to me. I hear the roar of my car and the whine of his. His is peaking in his shiftbox. I press that clutch again and pull the shifter straight back. He pulls ahead until my clutch drops back and then I pull right next to him. I notice he is topping out. The spedo reads about 67. I am calming down. No cops. No other cars. No kids. Just me, my car, and this guy. His automatic cannot hit any higher of an rpm for how fast his engine is pulling right now. My car is still climbing. It reads about 70 now and my car needs to shift. Alas, I press the clutch again. My hand presses up and to the right again. I am now in fifth gear. I am topping out. I don't look again after I see the needle move into the high 80's. I cannot see him anymore. I am flying. My heart is pumping harder than the injectors under the hood. I feel like I am in space, among the stars. He was nowhere to be seen. I beat him.

That was my account of the first and only street race I plan to ever be in. I raced my friend Taylor home from work one night in the middle of Rivergate in Nashville, TN. I had just started driving and was crazy and stupid. I won't ever do this again. The next week I was pulled over for speeding. I was clocked going 60 mph in a 30 mph zone. I was nearly charged with reckless driving. This event straightened me right up and I knew that I will live a lot longer to appreciate cars, engines, and performance if I take it a bit slower and enjoy my daily driving in a leisurely manner.
Cars, motors, and culture are essential to me at this point in my life. I love learning more about cars and their mechanics. I have so many varying tastes for cars that few understand me and what I won't like. I love imports and exotics. However, I was raised on and will always respect a piece of pure Americana with untarnished, unfiltered American Muscle. I own a busted up Honda and have plans for my near possibilities of what will come next.
The place I am at right now points me to a driving car. I don't want something for A to B driving, however that is a necessity to it. I want a car that after a long day of class I can jump in and feel like I am getting away when I set out down the highway. I want something fun to move. Currently my top contenders are a slightly modded Honda delSol or a lowered VW Beetle(60's-70's era). The Beetle is leading right now, despite my love of Hondas, because the VW will be a slow work in progress before completion and daily use. I will do work to it to make sure it is right where I want it. And that work will have to come from me, so it is a learning experience as well as a financial investment. Only time will tell I suppose.