‘Twas the night before Christmas and out in the garage, there wasn’t a trace of a Chevy or a Dodge. The presents were wrapped and the tree lights were lit, so I figured I’d mess with the ole Maverick for just a little bit. I popped the release and lifted the hood, when a deep voice behind me said, “looks pretty good.” Well as you can imagine, I turned mighty quick, and there by the workbench, stood good ole Saint Nick! We stood there a while, not too sure what to say, and then he said quietly, “don’t suppose you’d trade for my sleigh?” I said “no way Santa” and started to grin, “but if you’ve got the time, we could go for a spin.” His round little mouth all tied up like a bow, turned into a smile and he said “Hey, let’s go!!” So not to disturb the neighbors, in our hasty retreat, we pushed the Maverick quietly to the street. Then taking our places to drift down the hill, I turned on the key and let the clutch spill. The sound that erupted took him quite by surprise, but he liked it a lot, by the look in his eyes. With the rear tires a’chirpin’ and the pipes a glow, we headed on out where all the cruisers go. Santa’s grin widened, approaching his ears, with every shift up as I roll through the gears. Then he yelled, “Can’t recall when I’ve felt so alive!” So I backed off the gas and said “do you want to drive?” Ole Santa was stunned when I gave him the keys, when he walked past the headlights, he shook at the knees! Then the engine exploded with dual-exhaust sound! Santa let out the clutch and the tires shook the ground! Power shift into second, again into third, I sat there just watching, at loss for a word. Then I heard him exclaim as we blasted from sight, “Merry Christmas to all, it’s a very good night!”
