Need for Speed

I was a kid the first and the last time I rode a go kart. It was at the Fiesta Carnival with my two boy cousins. It was such a thrill for me already then, though as far as I remember, the circuit was just plain circle (or square?) and I couldn’t speed up as much as I wanted to.

So the night at the Kart City in Tarlac was the second time I rode a cart. I was so excited and anxious that I was keenly watching all those people cart-driving who came before my turn. I could tell who just wanted to experience the kart and who wanted the real kart experience.

So, when I rode on the cart, I first tested the gas and the brake pedals, driving slowly to see if this cart of mine follows the command of my steering wheel. I guess I could drive this thing, I thought. So, I stepped on the gas and decided to test its speed. I didn’t remember that karts go that fast, considering I was just a kid when I first drove one. I wasn’t as fast or as good a driver as the experienced kart drivers, but I did the fastest that I could. I enjoyed the strong wind on my skin and the feeling that I might hit the boundaries anytime (they were rubber tires). I especially enjoyed the sharp turns without hitting the brakes! If I were on a real car, the car would have turtle-turned and perhaps I would die, with some cheap insurance to compensate for my death. But the kart design was a genius. I wondered how they built it in such a way that it never seemed to flip no matter how fast and wrong the turn I made. I remembered the thrill I had with some officemates years back, when we tried “playing” with the car in the Villamor area (remember, rico?). Whew! That was one of the carefree (more like careless) moves I did in my life, but I love it. What the heck? We all wanted to defy gravity some time. I, for one, want to fly.

In the last few laps, I removed my helmet. I wanted to feel the speed on my face.

(P.S. In this place, you can drink and drive.)