Hi People,
I just HAD to get in on this one. I don't know how many of you have ever
tried to smoke a cigarette when you're trying to drive, but believe me it's not
one of lifes easiest proceedures. It's right up there next to juggling 3
oranges, 2 apples and a chain saw(thats running!) First you've got to light the
darn
cancer stick, then you have to try to get a puff or two in before the need to
shift comes up. If you had any modicum of success and were lucky enough to
have actually managed to pull a couple of drags out of the cigarette before you
burned your eyes with red hot ashes, you must now try to flick the remaining
ash into that example of British engineering acumen, the MGB ashtray. Which is
located directly behind the gear shift. No, I take that back...it's located
directly behind and about halfway up from where the gearshift rests in 4th
gear.
That way you can grab the smoldering cigarette out of the MGB's fab ashtray
bringing the remains up to your lips take a couple of drags, cough a couple of
times before returning the remains of the cigarette back into the ingenious
little MGB ashtray, making sure that the spring loaded lid (which can be sharp
so
don't cut yourself!) doesn't decide to snap shut, guillotining the poor half
finished cigarette into two-quarter sized cigarettes. Then before you have
time to mourn the demise of the illfated Marlboro or whatever you're poisoning
yourself with...it's time to shift into third, and then second so that the
engine can help your car come to a stop. Now of course you can shift into first
and
once traffic allows proceed on your way. Until you start to smell something
burning......Ooops! I guess when the ashtray lid came down it must of thrown
the still burning cigarette onto the carpet...except that it landed on the
other
side of the transmission tunnel, where you can't reach it unless you stop the
MG and go around to the passenger side and try to put it out. Remember the
next time the urge to light one up hit's you, make sure that you're not
driving...
Albert C. Escalante...1978 MGB
The Central Coast British Car Club (CA)
14th Annual British Car Show
July 18th, 2004 9:00am-3:00pm
Ventura, CA (info at www.ccbcc.org )
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