Camp Holloway Discussion Forum Archive 05 - 02/12/06 to 01/21/10

Jake Brakes

Have you ever heard the "engine brakes" of a semi truck? They're called "Jake Brakes"- and last night I was sitting on the porch smoking my after martini cigar(the wife refuses to allow the "stinking things" in the house),and heard one. They are not normally used in cities, so it's not often that I hear them. This one was rather unique. Picture this, a cloudy overcast night, a few lights on in the neighborhood less than half a mile south of the interstate loop 820, me quietly smoking a cigar and thanking God for allowing me to live to see my grand daughters. Suddenly, Brrrrrrrrap Brrrapp, Brapppppp! Three bursts of a Jake brake that sounded exactly like bursts of mini gun fire. For just a second my Adrenalin raced and I was back in the Nam. On a lot of rainy cloudy nights we'd get hit and for just a second I was there, then, mind racing I figured what it was. a Jake Brake that some trucker was using to slow his rig and avoid using his conventional brake on the slick highway. I've heard of flashbacks, but last night I had one. It was very real and for just a moment I experienced what our guys in Iraq must experience every day. Fright, flight and that surge of Adrenalin that makes you more alert than you have been in years.
Shaken, I finished my cigar and thanked God that it was just a memory, albeit, one that is evidently seared deep in my brain.
Salute
BT