This might seem paranoid, but…

[MrPixel]

Sounds like there's a good story here. I want to hear more about the friend and his "celebrity truck" collection. I just learned that was a thing for the first time.

He had two I was aware of, the Duel truck and the Rubber Duck's truck from Convoy, but he mentioned others that were more of niche appeal to truck collectors.

The story of his acquiring the Duel truck is fun. IIRC (20 years ago), he found it listed in a used truck magazine similar to Auto Trader, sitting idle on a lot not too far from the filming area. It was alleged to be in driveable condition, so he made the deal over the phone and flew to L.A. It ran and the brakes mostly worked, rubber was in questionable condition but worthy enough with no load, so off he goes, taking I-15 and then I-40 to head east. He actually made it all the way across the Mojave Desert, listening to the reactions over the CB, mostly "OMG!" Alas, it blew a head gasket climbing the grade out of Kingman. Since he owned a trucking company... naturally... he sent a driver with a flatbed from home, and they somehow found a ramp to load it. The big "FLAMMABLE" lettering on the tank from the movie was extant, but New Mexico DOT officers made them stop and cover it.

He fixed a whole bunch of stuff (I helped a little), put new tires on all around ($$$), and "entertained" the locals once it ran. He kept it 7 years or so, essentially growing weary of the increasingly expensive fixes to keep it roadworthy.

The Rubber Duck truck was a huge restoration project. All the movie trucks (4 or 5, I think) were essentially destroyed during filming, except for one partial cab and frame. Verifying the frame serial number from the pieces at some cement company's lot, he acquired the hulk, rebuilt the cab, and managed to scrounge the details including the hood ornament to recreate the truck including the sleeper cab. Certainly not all original, but it was the frame number that counted. He sold that one shortly after the Duel truck.

Funny story. He came into work one day (we were contracted consultants for a DOT) telling me about a phone call from the previous evening. Phone rings, he picks up:

"Hey, Dan!"​

"Yeah?"​

"It's Ernie!"​

"Ernie?"​

"Yeah. Ernie Borgnine! How you doin'?"​

​

The actor was fond of the Convoy project - Peckinpah was a trip, apparently - and word got out that my buddy was restoring the most famous truck from the production. He and Borgnine conversed several times.

He's since disposed of the collection and turned his attention to fire trucks, including buying a decommissioned fire station to store them in. Boys and their toys, you know.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

When the whole world is out to get you, paranoia is just good thinking

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[OddLove]

I might be paranoid cause I was diagnosed with schizoaffective bipolar disorder, but I don't trust doctors, so who knows.

 

[onehitwanda]

I may be paranoid, but i am quite certain that my dryer claims a sock every couple of months or so, without warning, as tribute for my using it.

The Eater of Socks. Terry Pratchett knew.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

This might seem paranoid, but no matter how sure I am that I've removed every scrap of metal from my person, someone always slips something into my pocket at the last possible moment that sets off the airport metal detector and forces me to endure the wand of shame.

I get the mystery shrapnel, possibly because I ate too many magnets as a kid. It's possibly inherited, because somehow my kid age 6 managed to come up on all the scans as being coated in explosives. They were very nice about it, and managed not to scare her, but did have to ask if she had any plans to blow anything up... Happened at another airport that trip, too.

Someone keeps hiding any important paper as soon as I put it down for a minute. And there's definitely gremlins in my work computer that hide vital files when I really need them.

 

[Lucien_Al]

Whenever I go for a walk at night one or more streetlights will go out as I pass by.

Have had that happen so often when driving too. Thought it was just me

 

[Duleigh]

Have had that happen so often when driving too. Thought it was just me

No reason to be paranoid, that's just the NSA. It makes tracking you by satellite easier for them

 

[Kelliezgirl]

A corollary:

This might seem paranoid, but even though I've never shoplifted, I hold my breath every time I walk out of a department store because I'm sure someone has slipped something into my bag that will set off the anti-theft alarm and result in a security guard hitting me with a flying tackle while the other customers shake their heads in disdain.

I always feel slightly awkward walking out of a store when I haven't purchased anything, and I'm very self conscious about taking anything out of my purse, because I'll have to put it back and I don't want it to look like I'm shoplifting.

 

[Duleigh]

I always feel slightly awkward walking out of a store when I haven't purchased anything, and I'm very self conscious about taking anything out of my purse, because I'll have to put it back and I don't want it to look like I'm shoplifting.

We know, we review the video carefully and you've mostly been honest... MOSTLY.

 

[StillStunned]

This might seem paranoid, but even though I've never shoplifted, I hold my breath every time I walk out of a department store because I'm sure someone has slipped something into my bag that will set off the anti-theft alarm and result in a security guard hitting me with a flying tackle while the other customers shake their heads in disdain.

I feel like a fraud every time I click "Yes, I am older than 18". Even though I am, and I was even before I first used the internet.

 

[MillieDynamite]

They don't mean your emotional age, @StillStunned, just your age age. They aren't even asking for your mental age!

I feel like a fraud every time I click "Yes, I am older than 18". Even though I am, and I was even before I first used the internet.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

They don't mean your emotional age, @StillStunned, just your age age. They aren't even asking for your mental age!

But which one of the voices in my head do I let choose?

 

[Duleigh]

But which one of the voices in my head do I let choose?

Here at APE (the American Psychiatric Enclave) we believe that when you think you hear voices in your head, always go with the baritone.

 

[MrPixel]

My position is that if you aren't paranoid in these times of invasive technology, you're not paying attention. Even your kitchen appliances are watching your every move.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

My position is that if you aren't paranoid in these times of invasive technology, you're not paying attention. Even your kitchen appliances are watching your every move.

Yeah, my toaster is kind of sketchy. I worry about him sometimes.

 

[yowser]

Yeah, my toaster is kind of sketchy. I worry about him sometimes.

Oooh, you have a male toaster?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Oooh, you have a male toaster?

A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

 

[ThatNewGuy]

Even your kitchen appliances are watching your every move.

I'm certain mine are. And it's not because I have smart appliances. It's because I've stuck oversized googly eyes on every single one.

 

[SimonDoom]

Oooh, you have a male toaster?

Speaking from a male perspective, the concept of a "female" toaster is absolutely terrifying. It sounds like something from a Saw movie. My loaf isn't going anywhere near those slots.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Shoestring budget movie made for TV but you could see the talent in the direction. I saw it when I was a kid, probably when it came out, and I saw it more recently, and I notice the use of details and shots in the chase scenes that remind me of Jaws and Jurasssic Park.

Chase scenes are mostly created in the editing room from many small filmed segments. I think they are popular because it allows us to feel the danger of driving a car while usually surviving crashes that would kill or maim in a real event. Also, the cars keep rolling even though they also survive damage that would disable them. In some scenes, three identical cars wind up being cracked-up to make a scene.

The best chase I've even seen is in The Seven-Ups (1973). It's on YouTube if you feel like watching it. If you look closely, the chase goes through 96th Street at least three times.

P.S.: I wonder if movie chases have inspired real cops to take-on unnecessary pursuits.

 

[AwkwardMD]

Decades ago I went to see Stephen Spielberg's first movie, Duel, about Dennis Weaver driving across the country, being monstered by a big oil tanker, where you never saw the driver, only his boots.

Walking home at 11:00 pm, damned if there wasn't the same kind of truck parked on the side of the road. I crossed over, walked faster, and kept turning back to make sure the bloody thing wasn't moving.

Duel has had a bigger impact on me than any other horror movie. I spend so much time paranoid of other drivers, as a direct result of Duel, that it's kind of staggering to think about.

Duel is awesome, by the way. Everyone should see it.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Just some light-hearted whelps. Feel free to add your own p̶a̶r̶a̶n̶o̶i̶a̶ keen observations on life. To start:

This might seem paranoid, but no matter how carefully I park in a mall or supermarket parking lot and no matter how carefully I not the spot, my car will always move three lanes over when I’m inside.

Oh, and a corollary:

This might seem paranoid, but if I try in such cases to use the key fob to make the horn beep, that same fob that inevitably triggers the panic alarm when I’m in church or looking for a comb, will fail utterly and I will have to find my car by barking my knee on a bumper.

A motorist! Well, I used to be one for awhile too but I'm not now for various reasons. Still, there's nothing as paranoid as entering an empty subway station at three in the morning. Best subway paranoia movie: The Incident (1967) with Tony Musante and a very young Martin Sheen. The whole thing is on YouTube.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

When people outside of New York hear I spent my teen years in Brooklyn, they almost always ask if was afraid riding the subway or walking the streets late at night. I usually reply, "Nah. The only thing to fear were teenage boys, and I was a teenage boy." It usually takes a few seconds for it to sink in.

 

[StillStunned]

When people outside of New York hear I spent my teen years in Brooklyn, they almost always ask if was afraid riding the subway or walking the streets late at night. I usually reply, "Nah. The only thing to fear were teenage boys, and I was a teenage boy." It usually takes a few seconds for it to sink in.

Lenny Henry used to do a bit about his first time visiting New York. People had warned him about walking by himself at night, and told him to find people to walk with. So one evening he's walking back to his hotel and remembers the advice. Seeing a group walking ahead, he hurries to catch up with them. Except they see him, and keep walking faster and faster. "I called out to them to stop, and they started throwing money down behind them!"

 

[gunhilltrain]

Except teen-age boys can cause quite a bit of havoc among other teen-age boys. At that age, I was more wary of them than I am as a geezer. Although maybe I'm just becoming careless - or is it indifferent? - as a geezer.