John's Scary Prom Nite

My neighbor's son had a most exciting prom nite. It took a while to get the whole story, but I think I have it and want to share it here. Planning for the unexpected is definitely something you need to do, especially for prom nite.

John, not his real name, had the idea that limos were old school and he wanted to arrive in something more modern and exciting at prom. Instead of going in on a limo with a bunch of people, he and one of his friends decided they would rent a special car for the occasion. Something large enough that it could easily fit 2 or 3 more couples after prom, but definitely not be confused with a limo. It also needed to have style and stand out. After all, this was prom and they needed to make a statement.

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They decided on a Hummer. One of those oversized, four wheel drive, military style vehicles. John drives a Beetle and his friend drives a Camry so getting behind the wheel of a Hummer is a pretty different experience. It has a much wider turn radius. The extra weight means you need to plan to use more real estate when stopping. The view of the road from so far up distorts your sense of speed. What feels like 30 MPH in a compact car is around 45 or 50 MPH in a Hummer. Parking is just a tad more difficult given the fact that it doesn't even fit between the white lines in many shopping center parking lots.

Fortunately my neighbor recognized the potential for disaster and insisted on getting John some supplemental short term car insurance. This move definitely paid for itself as John took out 3 neighborhood mailboxes before he even got into his tuxedo. After the prom, they decided to take the Hummer off roading. After putting it through some paces in a vacant lot, John climbed a steep hill that abutted a fast food parking lot. When the Hummer came over the crest, he couldn't see the Harley parked in front him and squashed it.

The owner of the Harley was clearly less than pleased. A couple days later, he was calm enough to appreciate the fact that, thanks to the supplemental short term car insurance, John had sufficient coverage to get the Harley replaced. John's father took a bit longer to calm down!