VERBS EXERCISE #1 
 
1. Josh, my friend, loves urban mythology; in fact, he always shares stories with me. 
 
 
2. One day, Josh caught me in the hallway at work and said, "Boy, do I have a story for you, my 
friend." 
 
 
3. I begged him to tell me, to share his latest myth. 
 
 
4. So, he did. 
 
 
5. He told me the story of an Air Force sergeant who had been stationed somewhere in the 
Mountain West. 
 
 
6. One night the Air Force sergeant noticed a pair of JATO devices sitting alongside an air force 
hanger. 
 
 
7. Josh continued by telling me that a JATO device is a Jet-Assisted Take-Off unit which is used 
to help large aircraft takeoff quickly from the ground. 
 
 
8.  Apparently, the Sergeant had stolen the devices and had rigged them to fit on the top of his 
car. 
 
 
9. Convinced that he might in fact take a joyride and break a land-speed record, the sergeant 
drove off with the JATO attached. 
 
 
10. As he ignited the apparatus, he began to achieve speeds in excess of 300-400 miles per 
hour. 
 
 
11. As he tried to reduce his speed, he noticed that his brakes were melting. 
 
 
12. As the Sergeant attempted to steer the car, he noticed that he could not for the car had 
taken flight. 
 
 
13. The Sergeant, in mid-air, held his breath for a few seconds as the car began to soar upward 
rapidly.  
 
 
14. The next morning, Sheriffs from the local town found the remains of the man and his car; the only thing which still resembled the car was the bumper with a sticker saying "How do you like 
my driving?" 
 
15. In some respects, this sticker was surprisingly ironic.