Runaway Big Red With Boojum

My dog Boojum and I were on our way home from a long trip to Baja.  On this particular journey back to the states I had been extra thristy and drank a little more water than I usually do when heading back towards the border.  The thing about drinking any liquid before crossing the border is the possibility of getting stuck in a long line with no way to take a leak.  So I always make sure my bladder tank is emptied before I get to close to the border.

This particular time, nature was calling me at a long stretch of road that had a slight downhill grade to it.  Nothing steep, just a nice gentle slope.  So I pulled over to the side of the road, stopped the engine and slid the gearshift into gear so it would keep the truck from moving because I have no emergency brake.  I left Boojum in the truck with the door open and told him to stay which he always did unless I said he could follow me.  So as I was venturing out to find a bush I got a really funny feeling that something wasn't right.  Whatever the feeling was, it made me turn around and look back at Big Red.  I was about 75 feet from Big Red and as I turned I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  It was as if everything was in slow motion for just a few seconds as I saw what was happening.

The only thing I could think of was to start running as fast as I could and hope that I could catch up to Big Red and Boojum before they went over the edge and into the ditch on the side of the road.  Apparently Boojum must have bumped the floor shift out of gear!  So it was Big Red rolling and Boojum, who was standing at the door looking at me with this bewildered look on his face while I was sprinting for the truck.  It was the fastest I had reacted on anything in a long time.  I ran as fast as I could and dove past Boojum and into the truck as it was quickly gaining speed and jumped in the drivers seat, slammed on the brakes and stuck it in gear, just in time too, for Big Red was headed for the ditch.

So I still needed the pit stop but this time I put Boojum on a leash and we both went out to the bush!