Some of my most interesting adventures came through the vehicles provided by dealerships for transportation to broadcast the games. Several different dealerships in Brownwood worked with the radio station to provide the vehicles back in the ‘70’s or ‘80’s. They did their job. It was the drivers that had the problems.
One car I picked up and started out on the highway to do a ballgame and the car started talking. I couldn’t decide what it was talking about but when I stopped or started it would carry on a conversation with me and I had no idea how to talk back. “The door is ajar.” That’s an interesting problem if you don’t know how to talk back. The best I recall I pulled into a service station, borrowed their phone, called the dealership, and told them what was happening and found out what I was supposed to do.
One of the more interesting ones is when I had taken off in the car and headed to beyond the Metroplex. I decided I was going to stop – I was probably a heavy smoker at the time – and I was going to go in a mall and get me a pack of cigarettes or Coke or something, so I ran in and when I came out I realized I had no earthly idea what I was driving! I didn’t know what to do but I had the key and I started walking. I’d walk up one line of cars then down another line of cars. I was going to broadcast a ballgame so I was kind of on a deadline. Eventually, after probably half an hour, the key fob went off and I found it.
Carl Wayne, my wife and I were headed out to a ballgame one day. I can’t remember where we were going but I think it was up toward the Metroplex. We get to about the outskirts of Brownwood and this beeping starts. We started trying to figure out what was happening to set off the beeper. It just kept going off and going off and it was driving me nuts and it was bothering my wife who was in the passenger seat. I told them I wasn’t going to ride all that way listening to that beep.
We checked phones, and any alerts the car would put out like a low tire, engine problem, etc. Carl is doing everything he can while he’s driving to try to figure it out. He’s steering to the left and it goes beep, beep, beep then he’s steering to the right and its going beep, beep, beep. My wife finally opened the glove compartment and got out the user manual and said, “I found it!” Carl pulled over and says, “What the heck is it?” She said, “If you go too far to the left or too far to the right, it’s triggering the beep to warn you that you’ve crossed the line. Carl spent the rest of the trip being very conscious of staying within the lines. When coming home, we would hear beep, beep, beep, and Carl would just say “Aww, shut up!”
I was going to Crowley to do a basketball game one night. I was turning off the highway and I dropped a cigarette out of my mouth. I thought it had bounced to the floorboard and I didn’t realize that it went onto my pants and stayed. I don’t know what kind of pants I had on but they must have been flammable. I caught on fire! The fire swept over me so quick that I pulled the car over and brushed myself off, if you will, to the point of ripping my pants almost off. I pulled up to a store and I had myself covered up with my arms and whatever. I went in and grabbed the first slacks I saw and went to the bathroom and put them on. Did the ballgame as one sharp dressed man.
Until next time, so long everybody.
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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].