The best horror story set on a crowded highway in the middle of the day I have ever heard.
Actually, that was a very interesting setting, wasn't it.
Another story made better by the forums. For some reason I didn't pick up on the toys to diversified portfolios, coming of age aspect of the story. But after reading your comments I think it's very clear the author had that in mind.
I thought the story could have handled a little trimming
"I recognized those shoes. It was Gina. She had somehow gotten the seatbelt off and come to rescue me."
The third sentence is unnecessary. Also, I personally thought the jokes, while clever and funny, got in the way of the action.
Overall, very fun story.
Here's something I realized. In fiction we have been trained to give extra weight to the words of maniacs, even though in reality maniacal rants rarely have any meaning. Didn't we expect that El Camino went nuts over financial problems? Maybe we were going to get some social commentary on the evils of capitalism or the "sub-prime" crisis. The author knew this and had to acknowledge it at the end, even though he didn't resolve it. But if I saw this guy in reality I would assume he was just riffing on something he heard on CNN. The irony of wisdom coming from the mouth of a lunatic has been done so many times it's no longer ironic; it's standard.
Although, I did enjoy the irony of El Camino, not imparting any sort of deep, mystical philosophy gleaned from his unique perspective, but giving basic, simple, financial advice. This story's simplicity, that it doesn't try to bite off more than it can chew, is what makes it charming.