LET'S TAKE A DRIVE...

I've been taking walks the past few posts and I love that so many of you want to come along. I think I've said before that I was born smack dab in the middle of the last century...you can do the math. I've been telling about things I remember in my childhood, which was all of the 50's and the start of the 60's. And if you've been along for awhile, you know I was kinda raised with cousins. The two I was closest to treated me like I was one of them...a boy. So of course, I acted like one!

Steve was a year older and Dave was my age, so we did most everything together. Someday I'll tell more stories about our adventures...we did some dumb things sometimes! But we had fun...and survived it all.
For now, get comfy for a bit and keep reading. The end is the best....



Today I want to run ahead a few years... into the early to mid 60's. That's about the time I really started listening to music, worrying about how my body was changing, and noticing cars...with guys in 'em! My problem was I had always been just 'one of the boys', even with the friends in town, all boys...

So when they tried their first 'smoke' I was there. And their first sip of beer they snuck out of the fridge, yep..I was there. And they knew I wouldn't tell, I was just one of them! Ok, enough of all that. What I want to tell about is cars and learning to drive.

My first experience behind the wheel was, well, not really me. ok, better explain. The three of us got in my uncles ford station wagon one day pretending we were going somewhere. You know how kids do that. It was parked in front of the house, which had a sloped driveway. And in this little mining town, things were built nilly willy, kinda close together, so we were right by the road.

Anyway, Steve happened to pull the gear shift down and the car started rolling backward...into the road... across the road...and right into the back end of the Gas Station/Mechanics shop that was on the other side of the road! Believe me, he was trying to figure out how to stop it, but...

Well, not much damage to either the car or the shop. But he knew he was in for a trip to the shed. But wait a minute...Vicki won't get into that much trouble...Ya, you guessed it. I hurried over to sit where Steve had been...and he was right, I didn't get in so much trouble, just a good tongue lashing. No trip to the shed.

Now I'll tell how I learned to drive in a 1956 Chev pick up truck.

I was almost 14. It was parked out back by the shed, ya, that shed. It was a hot summer day and we were the only ones home with nothing to do. So they decide they should teach me to drive. I kinda knew just by being in the truck with them delivering papers. We learned to drive early in a small town.

So here we are. Me sitting in the drivers seat, holding on to what seemed to be a HUGE steering wheel with a *suicide knob* on it (remember them?), and looking down toward the floor. This is the conversation...

 S- Here's the clutch and that's the gas petal.  You gotta push the clutch in and then slowly ease it out the same time you push on the gas.
V- Ok
S- This is the gear shift. This is 1st but you don't need to start out in it, use 2nd.
V- Why?
D- Cause you only need the Granny Gear if you're goin up a hill.
V- Oh
S- Here's 3rd and 4th. Oh and reverse. And ya gotta push the clutch in when ya shift.
V- Huh?
S- Move a minute and I'll show ya...there, get it?
V- Yep
D- Now, start it up and try it...
V- Ok...
S- NO! Don't let the clutch out so fast, you killed it!
D- (insert howling laughter and holding his stomach)
V- I can do it! Let me try again.....
V- Dangit!
S- Ok, one more time and if ya don't do it this time, you can't try again.
D- Hey, that's it, keep going!
V- Where's the brake?
S- (shouting) By the clutch but you won't need it much...
D- (shouting louder) We'll give ya a head start...but don't let us catch ya!!
V- Dangit!!

They both ran to the other truck and got in.

Ya, that's how I learned to drive, real fast, and on every back road in town! When we were younger we played this thing where one of us had to run and hide from the other 2. We called it 'Don't let us catch ya' I was usually the one who had to run and hide. I never really knew what would happen if they caught me. It was the wondering that mattered. I just ran fast and hid good till they got tired of trying to find me. Just silly stuff to pass the time.

But this was different... I was afraid they wouldn't let me drive the truck again. So....they never caught me! And I got so good at using that clutch and shiftin them gears. Then it got to where I would go race them on the straight road outside of town, and win! And the other guys in town would come race and...I'd win! Ok, not all the time, but most of them. And for some reason they all respected that. I mean, I was just one of the guys anyway, right?

 Oh how fun remembering all this. And I might add that when I took the Drivers Ed course in High School, it was out where my parents lived. And the Coach taught it. And he knew I could drive. So he'd let the other girls try to learn how for a ways, then when it was time to go back to town, he'd tell me to drive us home...
I got some scrunched eyebrow looks from some of those girls.
And I'd just smile back (O:

Ok, enough of me...
I found this awesome site that I hope you'll visit. Talk about memories...
This is full of them, music and all. You'll love it!

Cruzin...


Let me hear what you remember about these times....
Do you have a fun story about learning to drive?

Thanks for staying and taking the walk with me again!