We covered our mouths with little hands to muffle the spontaneous giggles at the planned ill-fated catastrophe.ДЄs soon as John crawled out from under the wooden bench, he joined in on the light-hearted entertainment. Sitting on our knees at opposite ends of the track, we exchanged sly glances before releasing our Hot Wheels as they rolled down the track on an inevitable collision course.ДЄs the small toys jumped their respective ramps, the racers collided in mid-air and crashed and burned. While my big brother was fetching his four-wheeled toy, my best buddy and I began using the track we put together for our groovy miniature automobiles. When JohnвЂ™s car flew under the pew, he crawled underneath the wooden bench to retrieve it. Pete Macinta took to the pulpit and led the song service, we went to work using the hymnals to build the racetrack for our diecast model cars. The three of us stood with the rest of the congregation when the worship service was opened in prayer by our father, the church pastor.Д«ut as soon as the Rev. вЂњYes maвЂ™am,вЂќ we asserted in unison before taking turns one last time diving onto the beds while pretending to run from sharks.ДЄfter climbing the stairs and marching up the side aisle nearest the organ to sit in the second pew from the front, John and I pulled out our favorite Hot Wheels cars as Johnny withdrew his own model vehicle from his trousers. вЂњYou boys need to hurry and get upstairs before the service begins,вЂќ commanded the tall slender woman looking suspiciously at the pair floundering on my brotherвЂ™s bed. He had just bounded onto the bed from off the nearby desk diving board following my lead. Johnny Puskarich, one of my classmates from school and church, was there to help ring in the new year and spend the night. The ministerвЂ™s wife poked her head into our room to issue last minute instructions before leaving the house with our baby sister. While we were working ourselves into a frenzy, our parents were making their own preparations for one of the biggest celebrations of the year - the New YearвЂ™s Eve church service and the after party in the parsonage. вЂњFive, four, three, two, oneвЂ¦ Happy New Year,вЂќ shouted the Price brothers simultaneously as they continued to practice the most infamous line spoken during the last few seconds of the year.ДЄlthough there werenвЂ™t any fireworks in Bentleyville, located in southwestern Pennsylvania, to usher in the brand new year of 1972, John and I were planning our own display of revelry to mark the special occasion.

Before the stroke of midnight