Mountain Dew

I vaguely remember my first car ride with my father. My mom told Dad to take me along to work with him. If I close my eyes, I can still remember the roar of the car engine, and the squealing tires as I slid from one side of the car to the other in the back seat as we rounded curves at a high rate of speed. It was like riding on the Tilt-A-Whirl at the county carnival that passed through our town once a year. What about seat belts, you ask? Not a standard issue way back in the day.

The sound of the loose gravel surrendering to the spinning tires and the dust plume engulfing the winding road behind us gave way to the faint sounds of distant police sirens. To drown out the sirens, my dad turned up the radio and started singing along to “Mountain Dew.”

Favorite Movie: "Thunder Road"

♫ They call it that good old mountan dew,

And them that refuse it are few.

I'll hush up my mug if you'll fill up my jug

With that good old mountain dew. ♫

Being the son of a bootlegger was never boring.

Okay, Dad was not a moonshiner, but when he told me that story, I bought it hook, line, and sinker. Dad, I wish you were still with us to spin another yarn or two.