The Jeep's Pine Box Derby, Or Man (and Jeep) Vs. Wild

Background: Every time we drive from our mountain house down to the town of Evergreen, my husband always wonders if he might, just might, be able to cruise in the Jeep down our winding roads, without ever hitting the brakes, never using gas, and making it all the way to the bottom.

All of this, despite the fact that there are about three stop signs with T intersections - not to mention several hairpin turns that would likely have to be taken on two wheels to accomplish this feat.

No worry. This guy I like to call "my husband" is essentially a boy trapped in a man's body, so, to him, this whole endeavor sounds more like the ultimate adventure than anything (he idolizes Bear Grylls if this gives any window into his soul) - and it's one he just can't get out of his mind.

Tonight: Somehow, the Jeep died a few days ago, and Fran hasn't been able to restart it.

Sitting in the hot tub, he tells me he's thought all of our options over (clearly), and there are only two ways to get the Jeep back to humanity to be fixed.

1) He called a towing company, and they can tow it for $79 initial hook up, plus an additional $10 for each additional mile they have to drive. Civilization is about 10 miles away, so that's about $100, from my estimates. TOTAL = $179

OR

2) We can join AAA for $65 - for the year - and they'll tow it free. TOTAL = $65

Now, I don't know about your math skills, but here's what I concluded: Option 2 is the cheaper method. By far.

But here's where it gets interesting.

Fran proposes what we'll call Option 1 on crack (before even mentioning Option 2): We put the Jeep in neutral, start it rolling down the hill by our house. I am supposed to go out by the curve, which represents the first obstacle where we might hit someone head on, and direct traffic if someone is coming, holding out my hand like a traffic cop to halt oncoming cars (how I'll sprint to this intersection - a distance of about 400 meters, after helping roll the Jeep - escapes me.) Fran showed me the signals I'm supposed to give oncoming traffic - hand flexed, arm extended, signalling the cars to halt.

According to Fran's calculations, we can save at least $50 (he's so frugal, this guy) on the towing expenses using this technique.

At first, I was a little perplexed. Then, it dawned on me. This wasn't about the significant savings we'd reap (a whole $50 - what will we do with all that cash?), in our little do-it-yourself (and-probably-die) version.

It's a chance for him to have his own taste of Man (and Jeep) vs. Wild, right here in Evergreen, racing down the hill, Boy-Scout-pine-box-derby-style, throwing caution to the wind, proving once and for all that Fran is truly on par with Bear.

Only Fran could come up with this crazy scheme - and actually be semi-serious about its implementation.