Throwback Thursday Memory Bloghop

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Learning to drive was not a pleasant experience in an old VW bug with my father as a teacher. Demanding and unforgiving were the rules of the day. High school driver training classes were fun, taught by the larger than life football coach. Between these two authorities I learned, or thought I did. The bug was a standard transmission and the high school car was an automatic.

For my state driver test I used the bug. I was fine until on a steep hill in town was told to stop the car. Traffic building up close behind me, kept my cool until I put in the clutch to start again. My seat suddenly unclicked and my shorter legs lost the pedals. The instructor put on the emergency brake but I couldn’t reach the pedals and panicked.

(After the uncomfortable teaching of my father who would yell “stop!” in the middle of an empty field and I should not have asked “why” results, the panic resulted. At least I feel he was partly to blame).

Panicked, but the instructor helped and said I passed. I never got into that bug again and did not do another driving test until five years later when married. Luckily, Houston driver tests do not include steep hills and with a standard transmission mustang, completed the test perfectly.

Of course I’ve had different cars and the standards are the most fun to drive I feel, with more control over the car itself. I can no longer drive because my legs don’t work, and I miss it very much.

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