blacky thought this would be the smartest thing to do under the circumstances , especially inasmuch as he wanted to see the famous lindy 's roadhouse and was now looking old enough to get in without being carded ( even if he was n't technically old enough yet ) , but as he was about to leave , johnny finally stopped vacillating and agreed to drive together , reasoning to himself that backing out in front of the `` squirt '' would not be good for his image in the long run .