GEARBOX BASTARDS

The year 1988.

I have to admit I was a bit of a speed demon in my younger years and had racked up a few speeding tickets. Once you hit six demerits you had to go down to the license department to have your license reviewed.  My buddy Dale had nothing to do so he went for a ride with me. When we got there the line up was long. I took my spot in line and waited. The guy ahead of me was a fairly large fellow- I would say 6 foot 3, around 300 pounds. He was dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, jean shirt and a cowhide sleeveless vest.  On this vest were about 300 buttons – the kind with catchphrases on then like – “kiss me I’m Irish”   -movies, various pins and you name it. I would best describe him as a cowboy nut job. As we waited in line he would mumble to himself- turn around and give me dirty looks, swear, and fidget around.  The longer we waited in line the more agitated he got. Dale was in the waiting area just off to my left about 15 feet away. We would exchange odd glances to each other mimicking him while his back was turned.  It was about 45 minutes before he got to the teller, he was fuming. I heard the teller say “Well, you been in four accidents that were all your fault so with your demerits your license comes to $1,500 dollars.”  He exploded- “WHAT THE FUCK, ARE YOU MOTHER FUCKERS CRAZY, I’M NOT PAYING THAT”.   Then he said something I still haven’t figured out what it means.  “IM GOING TO KILL YOU GEARBOX BASTARDS”.  He then turned around to glare at everybody behind him with fists clenched, me right in front of him. While he is doing this I see Dale get up off his chair- he starts jumping up and down like a monkey and making faces at me imitating this lunatic. The nut job can’t see Dale but I do, I start to smile and laugh. He sees me laughing and comes closer to me, about a foot away – He says “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LAUGHING AT” – He stares at me for about 15 seconds. I’m still trying not to laugh because Dale is still making faces at me.  He finally turns around and starts yelling at the clerk again – using the “GEARBOX BASTARDS” comment. He continues to swear and threaten the staff. All of a sudden two cops burst through a side door and tackle this maniac to the ground- handcuff him and haul him away. I retake my place in line – pay a $150 bucks for my license and get the hell out of there.   If anybody knows what a "gearbox bastard" is give me a shout.