The Incident

Lou Waltz wondered what he had done with his keys. He stumbled his way outside of The Dugout bar and grill, swaying as he took every step toward his 1957 international pickup. He racked his brain trying to remember what had happened to them. The beer he had been drinking all night was now being fully felt. He arrived at the bar after around 6 pm, now they were closing down for the night. Lou liked to have fun when he wasn't working. Between drinking and chasing women he sometimes forgot to go home to his wife and children. Now it was early morning and there was nowhere else to go. He looked down. The keys appeared on the ground in front of the drivers’ door of his old green pickup. Doing his best to concentrate, he bent to pick up the keys from the ground. Lou swayed and lost his balance falling to the ground while simultaneously hitting his head on the truck door. He thought maybe he should not have drunk so much.

Once he got the truck started, he began driving home. Inching his way from the highway onto the backroads, it didn't take long before the old house appeared. The white house was a ways back off the road. It had a huge yard that Mrs. Waltz had tried to beautify by planting several rose bushes and marigolds along the front of the house, which improved its appearance. It was just big enough for Mr. and Mrs. Waltz and the 4 children.

Lou's two oldest sons were also out that night. The oldest, Doug, 17, was in the woods nearby with his latest girlfriend Ellen, doing things that teenagers do. Mitch the15-year-old was in the yard behind one of his mother's rose bushes with his girl ann.

Finally, the truck had reached the start of the driveway. He had made home without being pulled over. He knew he'd be fine, he just had to park and put the brake on. Before he could do that he wondered where his cigarettes went. They were just here, he thought. In the dark, he bent down looking around the truck for them, without knowing, he pressed on the gas. Lou lost control of the truck, he grabbed the wheel as the truck plowed forward into the front yard.

Mitch and his girlfriend knew they were in deep trouble, seeing his dad's truck speeding their way. Forgetting their clothes, Mitch and Ann began running for their lives.

Lou in a panic frantically tried pumping the gas and brake pedal forgetting which one was which in his drunken state trying to get the truck under control. His mind fuzzing, he tried his best to get control of the situation. Circling the yard, trying to gain control, Lou looked ahead to see the twin buttocks of Mitch and Ann running in the headlights of the truck. Nowhere else to go Lou headed for the rose bushes and prayed for the best outcome.

Sunday morning came. The pickup was still stuck in the rose bush. The keys are somewhere nearby in the grass. Mrs. Waltz and the four children, including the 9-year-old girl, were in the front yard working to remove the green pickup from the roses bushes. Doug got the truck in reverse as everyone else pushed, then backed it up to the driveway where he parked it safely. Lou was not coming outside today. He was sitting in his chair in the living room trying not to breathe too loud. His head felt like it was the bass drum at a rock concert.