LEARNING TO DRIVE

3-27-09...LEARNING TO DRIVE

I was sitting in the quiet predawn this morning and started thinking about when I was learning to drive. Oh My Gracious, what a catastrophe that was. I still cringe just thinking about it. Just was a good thing that I had dirt roads to learn on and hardly ever any traffic.
Daddy had let me sit on his lap before my feet would reach the pedals and steer the car. Of course it was a standard transmission. No automatics then. All I really learned that way was steering and Daddy did the most of that. Daddy worked in another state in a coal mine so I asked Mama to let me drive one day. We were going to Parks Store. Just had to go up to the end of our road, turn right and go a very short distance and you were there. The road was wide and straight. Shouldn't be a problem you would think. But with me at the wheel, and Mama, who couldn't drive worth a lick, as my Teacher, It was an accident waiting to happen. Yep!
You could hear me to the next county stripping gears every time I tried to shift. Once I even got it in reverse instead of second gear. People were stepping out of their houses to see what the heck was making all the noise.
Now Mama was a nervous wreck before we got to the corner. She was wringing her hands and saying, "Lord help us, Clydene, Oh my gosh Clydene be careful". I think it had slipped her mind that she was supposed to be showing me what to do. She was just going berserk. We got to the end of that road and it was more slowing down, screeching the gears and getting ready to turn right. Did I say right? Yep should have been right, but I turned left. Yep sure did. "Clydene what are you doin'. Where you goin', Oh my gosh, Lord protect us. You are going the wrong way Clydene, you gotta turn around". Mama was frantic and no use to me right then. Heck fire I knew I had to turn around didn't I? Sure I did. Daddy told her later, "Lucille why didn't you just make Clydene stop and you get under the wheel"? Guess she never thought of that. HE HE Now I loved and do love My Mama with a deep love and I would never have told any of this while she was alive out of respect for her, but she never did get to be a good driver. I'm expecting her to slap my jaws any second right now! Bless Her Heart of gold.
Anyway back to my story. I can't remember being scared, can't remember speaking a word, and by then I wasn't hearing Mama anymore. Isn't that the way it is with the young? Now I feel my skin prickle even thinking about it. I managed to pull in to a wide driveway and get turned around with screeching of gears and jerking both our necks almost off with the sudden stops and the hunching along of the car as I changed gears. Heck fire I was on my way again. Whoppee I'm drivin', Yep just look at me world, I'm drivin'.
I screeched in to Parks store just barely missing the gas tank out front and coming to a stop right next to a fence. Heck, That was good driving wasn't it? Well wasn't it? I figured I was ready to take the highway now. Yep! Course I was set straight on that one real quick like when Mama regained her equilibrium. YEP!
Mama had forgot what she was coming to get at the store but thank goodness she had me with her cause I remembered. OH SURE SHE WAS Lucky.
I went in and got the things Mama needed came back out and got under the wheel to go home. Hall Parks came out of the store and gave me some instructions. Heck, now that I think about it, I never saw Hall drive. He didn't even have a car. I drove the same way home with only one mishap. I drove into a shallow ditch and gunned it right back out and roared on home. Mama was jumpy all evening and she never again let me drive. I was 13 then and I didn't really learn to drive till I was 18 and married. But that is another scary story which I'll tell you later. YEP!