Wild Times In The Mystery Machine
When I conceived of building my own Mystery Machine, I did not expect it to be the phenomenon it has been. I expected a few inquisitive looks, but everyone who sees it goes absolutely bonkers. The very first night I drove it out of the garage with its new paint job, I left it outside a pizza parlor near campus. In the hour and a half we were in there eating, two different groups of girls had left a note under each windshield wiper including their phone numbers. I discarded the notes out of respect for the girl I happened to be on a date with, but it was immediately obvious that the Mystery Machine was a good thing. Sometimes you forget you're driving the Mystery Machine until someone starts honking or yelling at you. The honks often come too quick for me to respond as I negotiate traffic. Often my hand goes up in a wave instinctively even before I can ascertain where the honks are coming from. I've had carloads of people pull me to the side of the road so they can get their picture taken with the van. Sometimes people jump up and down on the sidewalk waving their hands at the sight of the Mystery Machine. I've even had people walk right out into moving traffic causing the cars to stop so they could spend a moment with the Machine. One night, I went out for milk around 1:30 in the morning. On my route back, I drove down Broadway. There were people on the streets as the bars were just closing. A group of excited girls caught up to me at a stop light and asked for a ride. It's not every day college girls ask a complete stranger if they can see the inside of his van, that is unless the Mystery Machine is in town. Seven people piled in and before I could get more than a few blocks, another even larger group of people stopped us to have their picture taken. It was not uncommon to give a group a spin around the block and it even gave rise to a few parties. Everyone knew they had the right house when they saw the Mystery Machine parked outside. When the downtown streets of Columbia were packed with fans after a football game, we gave rides and photo ops to people from at least four different states. It makes me proud to think that pictures of my van are floating around all across America. The first time a friend sent me a digital picture of the Mystery Machine on E-mail, I immediately sent it to all my friends. Within 24 hours the E-mail had reached a journalist who wanted to do a newsletter article on the making of the Mystery Machine. Occasionally friends report to me that they heard mention of the Mystery Machine by a local radio DJ. I was even asked to do a local television interview, but I turned it down. While it's true that girls would pay more attention to what you were saying as soon as they realized you were even associated with the Mystery Machine parked outside, I never exploited it in that way. I have only one happy coincidence to report along those lines. Months before meeting my fabulous girlfriend of almost 8 months, she saw the Mystery Machine parked outside a local dance club and remarked, "I need to meet the guy who drives that. That's the guy for me." The Machine didn't play a factor in us meeting, but it was an interesting coincidence, and a prophecy that came true. In short, the Mystery Machine is a great conversation piece and a perfect opportunity to make new friends everywhere it goes.
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