Does learning to drive a stickshift, create a stronger memory than learning an automatic? I mean, with the extra brain growth, thanks to the third pedal and all the humiliation it offers, it seems like a firm foundation for long remembering.
It was the early seventies, and there were three vehicles I can recall learning to drive in. One was a homely, unreliable, Ford Maverick, that Mom used to try to teach me, but only in the upper driveway. Guess she wanted to be close to home or hoped the stress would be less in a driveway. My favorite, was a car my father hated, a red Toyota Celica (formerly owned by older brother). Such a (short-lived) joy to drive!
The third vehicle, was a Ford truck--most likely a 250. It sat high and had, what Dad called, a Granny Gear. Dad would take me down to our small town's frontage road. The road was built for traffic to easily navigate our small "industrial area" by the river. There was so little traffic, that the road was a safe bet for a new driver.
During one of our drives, Dad spotted a friend coming towards us on the road. We stopped and the two of them enjoyed a nice spell of jawing, as I kept that strong clutch pedal down on the floor. It wasn't easy, but I wanted to show him how strong and able I was to hold that foot down and steady. But that's not what he noticed--he noticed an opportunity to tell me about neutral. Always something more to learn . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment