When I was seven, I had a near-death experience. I was driving the tractor, pulling a small wagon that contained the posts, and every so many feet, we would drop a post. Soon we came to a very steep hill with a rather precipitous descent. There was a lever on the tractor that, when you were on level ground or an incline, pulling it would reduce the speed. However, if you were descending it caused the opposite—in fact, it made the tractor coast. In my nervousness approaching the hill, I attempted to slow progress, and pulled the lever causing the tractor to go faster, not slower.
