So I have been bugging Dan about doing some posts, and now he goes and does how many? But his question to you leaves a great opportunity for me to tell a wonderful story. I learned to drive a pickup first. It was an automatic and we were in a field picking up hay... instead of driving by the bales of hay I chose to drive over them (like I knew what i was doing...) after my father screamed at me for a while I got out from behind the wheel of the pickup and chose never to drive again... Well until I turned 16.
A funny thing happens to you when you turn 16. Drivers ed, freedom, and, well, magic. In drivers ed we had three driving experiences. I have to say all three went really well. We drove an automatic and it was your standard drivers ed car. I did great actually and the teacher told me that if I were to take the test I could probably pass it. I of course I took him at his word and Mom if I could drive our pickup home. We lived 36 miles from town so it was a long drive. That particular night we had my mom, my sister, and two cattle dogs in the truck as well as myself, but I took the keys and stepped up to drive.
The route home went down a state highway, speed limit 55. I had no problem doing that, but turning a ninety degree corner proved a bit of a challenge. Actually the turning wasn't the hard part either. As we are approaching the turn, my mother starts in: "You need to slow down now Rene. Your getting close to where we turn."
"I know that mom I have been going down this road as much as you for the last three years."
"You need to slow down Rene." This time it is a little more forceful but it wasn't until she yelled "STEP ON THE BRAKES" that I finally decided to apply the brakes. Of course when you are doing 55 and you stomp on the brakes, bad things can happen. However, we did a perfect turn for that corner. The rear of the truck came right around and amazingly stopped with the truck headed in the right direction.
The dogs bit my sister, who was hanging on to the door with a death grip. My mother, who was sitting on my sister's lap after the turn, was frantically trying to get me to pull over the truck and stop. Between Mom, the dogs, and my sister, total chaos was occurring on the right side of the truck.
I pulled over before they hurt themselves. Mom, my sister and both dogs got out of the truck as soon as it stopped. The dogs were not wild about getting back in the truck even after my mother took over the driving. I took three more years to learn to drive. I knocked over my future father in laws entire fence, scared a poor garbage man half to death by backing down a hill in front of him (couldn't get the car to move forward after stopping on a busy street), and bought my own car to learn to drive in. Those are all other stories that i will share at a different time. Just understand I did learn to drive and I do alright now. Incidentally, my car is a green Volvo. You might want to keep an eye out!
Ah Driving on Whidbey..
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