Learning To Drive

Learning To Drive

LEARNING TO DRIVE

My brother, Rob, was very envious of me.   I had turned 16 and was now eligible to get my driver’s license.   The problem was I didn’t have the burning desire to drive that he had, and he was only 14!   My first time behind the wheel was at his urging.   We were at a gas station waiting for Dad to come back from the restroom.   Somehow Rob talked me into taking the wheel, turning the key, and starting to drive.   I went a short distance and wanted to stop, but didn’t know how, so I just turned the key off.   We stopped!   That was enough.   That was in August.  
The next spring I decided I would learn to drive.   Mom didn’t want to teach me and, frankly, that was a wise decision.   Instead, she took me to the local driving school and signed me up.   I guess the first two sessions went well, but the third was a waste of time.   For some reason, I remember that I wore blue and white Spectator pumps I had bought with a #17 ration stamp.   They were new, and I was proud of them.   Maybe I had my mind on them, but probably it was due to the fact that I have always had to stop and think which is my left hand and which is my right.   This was important at that moment.   My instructor told me to turn right, and I turned left.   Boy, she was mad!   She hadn’t taught me about backing up and turning around, so we spent the rest of the lesson turning down one street after another to get back to our original destination.   That was a traumatic lesson.   I was just glad when we got back to the school and I could get out of the car.
Eventually I made it through the driving lessons, mastering the three-point turn without touching any curbs, and was ready to go to the Massachusetts Registry of Vehicles for my driving test.   I did the three-point turn on a hill perfectly and whatever else they put me through.   I came away with my 30-day provisional license.   I had fulfilled my brother’s wishes and could now drive him around.   I got so I really did like to drive and have been...