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| Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com |
It was a sunny
afternoon in late June. I was around 16 and scared to drive. I didn't pass my
drivers exam in high school and put off trying again for years. But my
determined older brother took me to a local grocery store and decided he was
going to teach me to drive whether I liked it or not. At the time he drove an
old Honda Civic with over 130,000 miles and a stick shift (eeek!). I was beyond
terrified to drive it to say the least.
After buying a few
items we headed back out to the car of all cars. Instead of hopping into the
driver seat, my brother got into the passenger seat. And looked at me
expectantly. I almost immediately broke into tears. I was so scared to get into
that Honda and test my skills (or lack thereof). After what felt like a billion
years I was coerced into the driver seat. I can still remember the smell of the
leather steering wheel as I gripped it with deathlike force.
I took a deep
breath, put one foot on the brake and one foot on the clutch while easing that
bitty, bad Honda Civic into first gear. I eased my foot off the clutch as I
pushed down on the gas and I was off! I stopped for a red light and all bets
were off. As the light turned green I slowly moved into the intersection. The
Honda stalled. I'm pretty sure I said a few choice words, restarted the trusty
Honda and put both feet on the correct pedals. Cars honked and went around me,
and a few people even swore at me as they passed by.
I put the Civic in
first gear again, and eased my foot off the clutch. And stalled the car again!
Then the green light turned yellow and then back to red. All the while I was in
the middle of the intersection listening to my brother tell me what to do and
trying my hardest not to completely lose it. I slowly lurched a few feet
forward during the next two lights. That's right; I was in the middle of the
intersection for three entire lights!
Finally, I was able
to squeak out of the intersection and go to the side of the road. After I caught
my breath, I got out of the car and quickly switched places with my brother. I
was DONE driving for the day. Mostly I was just thankful that I wasn't dead and
that my brothers sacred Honda Civic was still intact.
The next time I got
behind the wheel of that car was a much better memory. I had no issues at all.
For whatever reason, the horror of that first lurching drive had given me the
battle scars I needed to be able to handle a stick shift for life. And it was
all because of a bitty, bad Honda Civic.
*****
Hi! I'm Jacki and I blog at www.mamasonadime.com.
I am a mom to three little munchkins and love being involved in my community. I
also love all things frugal, but I'm not willing to sacrifice quality in the
process. Which means I'm all about getting more for less!
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