Monday, April 26, 2010

Random Monday Memories #6 . . .

Learning To Drive
I learned to drive in a 1957 Chevrolet like this one.
On our way to piano lessons in the country
my Mother would move over as close as she could
get to the door and I would scoot over to take the steering wheel.
On Sunday afternoon my Dad would take me
out on the country roads and I got
to practice driving in the driver's seat.


This was a cool car. Loved the color.
I was so sad when Dad sold it.

This is the car I took my driver's test in.
It was big and beautiful.
Both of these Chevrolets were automatic drive.


One day my Dad brought home a cute
little car for a test drive.
Meet the Buick Opel Kadett.
It was standard shift.
He told me he was going to buy this car if I could drive it.
Hello, I had never driven a standard shift!!!
It was time for my little sister, Susan,
to go back to school after lunch.
The three of us got in the car
with me behind the wheel.
Well, you can imagine how the trip was since
I had never even tried to drive a standard shift.
There was a lot of gear grinding and jerking.
My Dad was trying to give instructions on how to navigate.
I was scared and frustrated.
I was so relieved when we finally made it home.
It was evident that I couldn't drive this cute little car.
That evening when Dad came home for supper
he was driving the little white car.
I became a master of the standard shift
and drove that car for many a mile.

5 comments:

Julie Harward said...

How lucky for you! I learned to drive on a tractor and my brothers would yell at me if I jerked it.. But I learned! That buick is cute, they have always made beautiful bodied cars. Come say hi :D

Kerin said...

Good Morning!
Love the old cars! Our two oldest kids wanted old cars for their first cars. Our son bought a 1968 T-bird and our daughter bought a 1967 T-bird. For a few years, they showed their old T-birds in all the car shows. They sure had a blast!
They don't make 'em like they used to do they?!!

Elena said...

Those were great memories. I learned on a automatic shift too. I bought a small little car in 1987 that was brand new with standard shift. I had to learn really fast if I wanted to drive my new car!

Darlene said...

I love that car! When hubby and I were married the first "new" car we bought together was a standard shift. I was up bright and early the next morning ready to take my driving lessons so I could drive it. I LOVED it!

Cindy said...

I learned on a Chevy Impala stick shift and ran into a tree! The car was the only thing hurt. After lots of lurching and stalling, I finally got the hang of it. I actually enjoy driving a stick shift even today, tho we don't have one.