Pap
The comment left by Jeffery on yesterday’s post got me to thinking about folks who never picked up someone thumbing because they never drove a vehicle.
Neither of Granny’s parents, Gazzie and Charlie, ever drove. Granny said they never felt like they had a need to drive and even if they did they couldn’t have afforded a car.
When Gazzie or Charlie needed something they usually walked to one of the nearby stores and then the store owner would drive them back home with their groceries. Granny said that wasn’t all that unusual in those days because lots of folks didn’t drive nor have cars.
When Granny was in the hospital long time family friends Paul Ray and Linda Morgan came to visit her. Granny and Pap were first friends with Paul Ray’s parents Slim and Maime. Paul Ray was just a boy in those days.
Granny told Paul Ray the first time she ever met Slim she was walking home from the store with her daddy. Slim worked for the Copper Company in Copperhill TN and he was on his way home from work. He saw them walking and stopped and picked them up.
Once Gazzie and Charlie’s children were grown they often took their parents where they needed to go.
Granny’s grandpa Truett (Gazzie’s father) never drove either. He was one of the most popular preachers in our area and depended on his sons Henry and Hardy as well as other people to take him to various churches and church functions.
Pap’s parents Wade and Marie did drive although Granny said Marie didn’t get her license until after her and Pap had been married a while. She said Marie would drive their old truck around the general area of Brasstown but not go into town.
Marie and Wade had a big garden and a milk cow so they didn’t need to go to town very often and Wade drove them to church every Sunday and anywhere else distant that they needed to go.
When Pap and Granny got married Granny couldn’t drive. Not that unusual considering her parents never owned a car.
In those days Pap was a long haul trucker so he was often gone over night. Granny said after they had my older brother Steve she got worried he’d get sick while Pap was gone and she wouldn’t be able to take him to the doctor.
Pap’s car was a straight shift. He tried to teach Granny to drive it but she couldn’t master the clutch and gears so he traded for an automatic. Granny would put Steve down for a nap and then practice driving in the driveway. She finally got good enough to get her license.
The Deer Hunter said he never saw either of his grandmothers drive.
I learned to drive in Pap and Granny’s big 70 something Impala. That thing was a boat! Pap helped me get my first car which was a little well used Chevette.
After taking drivers ed in high school I got my permit and looking back I can’t believe Granny and Pap let me, but I drove on that permit without an adult for a while. I was working at McDonalds. I suppose it was easier to just let me drive. I even went by myself to get my license.
The Deer Hunter was driving his daddy’s old 61 Willys Jeep truck by the time he was 8 years old and was pulling trailers not long after that. I tease him by saying he’s such a good driver he could drive a cardboard box.
Last night’s video: Fighting Weeds, Radish Beans, & Surprising Matt.
Tipper
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When I started driving, my cousin had a chevy. I would have to sat on to pillows so I’d be high enough to see over the dashboard. I don’t know why but I was always scared to cross over a bridge. I would squinch up. But I made it.
I grew up hearing cars like Impalas and LTDs called land yachts!
I love reading all the comments on this!
My mom never learned to drive but her mother finally decided to learn when she was in her late 50s or early 60s.
I tried to learn to drive a stick shift in my daddy’s old Chevrolet junk hauling truck and later my brothers little pickup but could never seem to master the ability to keep from rolling backwards on a small incline.
My husbands great grandfather wouldn’t even ride in a vehicle or what he called a contraption!!
Neither of my grandmothers ever drove. My grandad tried to teach my granny, but my dad and his brother were big enough to make fun of her for not being good at it, so she quit. I don’t know if my mom’s mom ever even tried.
I never saw two of my great uncles ever drive, although I believe they knew how. By the 70s, when I knew them, neither of them owned a car and other people drove them when they needed to go to the doctor or the store. Another great uncle only ever drove the farm truck that I saw, so I don’t know if he ever drove on the roads or not.
It’s funny to think about that now, when pretty much all of us drive and own cars.
Good memories. My mother never drove either. The 2 places she worked before her health declined was on a main road we called The Pike. It was just 1 block over from our house. We lived in a small neighborhood. Being there was 7 of us kids ( I was #7 and I am 75) She had many people to drive her around. Daddy took her to The Pike to get groceries every Saturday. No drivers Ed at my school. One of my brothers taught me to drive (automatic) around our streets. I got married at 19, straight out of school and got pregnant quickly. I never got my license till then and like Grannie worried about how to take the baby to Doctor. So at a big 8 months prego I got my license. There wasn’t a push for young girls to drive even back then. Boyfriends and hubby took them everywhere. Many years later out of necessity I learned on a stick shift. And guess what, it was a 5 in the floor Chevette. Loved that car, very dependable and cheap to run. TFS!
Is that you, Linda, for Kenilworth Presbyterian Church? [‘Ive sent you several emails–but I guess it was not a good time, given the situation. Commented on your grandchild!) After reading your whole comment, I think you must by another Linda Underwood. If so, “so glad to meet you! :)]
If so, how very providental. I came to the blog today to post my 2 books published by Redhawk Publications: My memoir NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT: A MEMOIR IN ESSAYS (may order at https://tinyurl.com/NancyDillingham) for $15.00, and CURVES: COLLECTED STORIES which will come out officially July 1, 2024, but can be preordered at https://tinyurl.com/CurvesByDillingham for $12.50
And to say that my mother never drove either. Instead, she got rides from anyone that was kind enough to take her to “town” (Asheville) from Dillingham when she needed to go. Or she (and us, her children) caught the bus that used to run from Dillingham to the Trantham’s Drug Store. Had to be back there before 6:00 to catch it back to Dillingham. If she ran into anyone she knew, sometimes she would catch a ride home with her. I can remember we often went to the A&P for groceries and had to run back to Trantham’s so we didn’t miss the bus. Once we were almost home on the bus and there was a terrific electric storm. We heard this awful noice and thought the bus had been struck. Today, I think we often take driving for granted but not “back then.” (I, myself, didn’t learn to drive until I was 47! I think I found every excuse not to and sometimes, when I was first teaching, changed cars 2 or 3 times in the morning and evening. Began my day at 6 and it was sometimes after 7 when I got back to Dillingham. Moved to Asheville and continued to catch rides until I finally decided I needed to learn to drive. Saved me a lot of time!
My typing is going to the pits. And I missed my mistake when I proofread it. This is Jennifer again. My momma’s parents, neither one drove. They Always got where they wanted to be though. Bye again. Love and best wishes to everyone.
Hey Tipper and all, Daddy drove, momma didn’t, she tried, but daddy yelled more than he taught at her. Bless her heart, she finally gave up completely. I guess she didn’t ask, nor was offered, to be taught by, my older brother or me. Daddy’s dad drove, his momma didn’t. Both of momma’s parents drove. Strange thing, none of the non drivers ever had any problems getting places . . My first time driving was daddy holding me in his lap and him working the pedals and me the steering wheel. He shifted. I started driving with a stick shift. My first car , I purchased, was an F88 Oldsmobile. Stick shift, I had a sticker on the front plate had moon eyes . So guess what my nick name was for awhile. . A fun memory. Thanks for the memories ,as always. Y’all have a great weekend and hopefully you get to meet your new grandson soon. I’m sure Corie, Austin and Olive are ready. Blessings to all. Jennifer
Wonderful post. Had not really thought about it but now think I had several aunts who never drove. My mother did not drive until I was about 10 years old and she was 50. She said she drove her brother’s car maybe in her teens. She ran into the ditch and caused her nephew to fall and get bruised. She never intended to drive again. But she decided she needed to learn to drive when my dad took a job that caused him to be out of town during the week. It was never something she enjoyed. I always wanted to drive and dad would let me drive up and down the drive long before I could get a license. He let me get my license the day I turned 15. After that I drove for mother especially on out of town trips. What memories.
My Dad taught me to drive in the 1970s and he was a good teacher. At first we practiced in a parking lot at the high school. He taught me how to judge distances, how to know the corners of the car, how to time getting on and off the local freeway (with the shortest on-ramp on the planet), parking, parallel parking, speeding up and slamming on the brakes to learn about fishtailing and general car performance in different situations. I learned about driving in different weather conditions – rain, flash flooding, icy roads, different road surfaces, heavy traffic, and even potentially dangerous situations. Then one day he said – “Mary I want you to speed up a bit and I’m going to turn off the car while you are driving.” So I accelerated and then he reached over and turned off the key. I immediately felt a real struggle to turn the wheel of the car of course. So I tapped brakes and coasted to a stop. He was trying to teach me what it might feel like if I was ever in a situation where I lost the power steering. He then taught me a basic navigation lesson involving mental mapping. Broadly, it’s having a strong mental image of where you are relative to where you are trying to go. That paired with a quick glance of any paper map and I can still get around often without google maps!! He really gave me confidence to get around and take care of myself. But perhaps the best lesson for a young gal gaining more and more independence was – “Just remember Mary, no matter what happens, ALL roads lead home.”
What a nice walk, I mean, drive, down memory lane. Thank you, Everyone, for sharing your stories.
Like many told of here, my grand parents did not drive. My parents, however, did. From here to there and back again, my parents enjoyed the speedy freedom their cars provided.
When I was sixteen-years-old – a long, long ago time when I had a great deal more money than good sense – I purchased my first car. I fell in love the moment I walked into the showroom for there, in pride of place, was a yellow Corvette with a black leather interior and shiny silver hubcaps. I just had to have that car! But the salesman refused to sell it to me. He did not know me and he would have made a good commission from the sale, but he refused to sell. He suggested that I just “go home.”
Looking back now, I understand why the salesman refused: He was a loving father. He would have no more sold a sports car to a foolish young lady than he would have given his baby boy a loaded pistol. But in that moment, I did not appreciate his concern. I stormed out. I went down the street and bought a dark blue Volkswagen Beetle. I drove that car, gears grinding and vehicle swerving, all the way home. It was my first time behind the wheel of a car.
The next day I drove/ground/swerved The Blueberry to the local DMV to get my driver’s license. When I passed the written test, it was time for the practical exam. The first thing the man said when we were seated in The Blueberry was, “Turn on the headlights, please.”
I complied.
Then the man said, “Turn off the high beams, please.”
High beams? I looked at the dashboard, but there was no label for “high beams.”
The man asked how I would know if my high beams were blinding the driver of an oncoming car.
“Um… If they were squinting?” I replied.
The man winced like he had a toothache. Then he got out of The Blueberry. He walked around to my side of the car, leaned in close through my open window, and growled, “Come back when you know how your car works.”
A month later I did.
And I have been driving ever since.
My Mom’s parents never drove anything other than oxen, mules or horses. Dad’s father had a car. Dad said he rarely drove it anywhere except to church. He would send two boys walking to town with a gas can when he needed to refuel. My mother began driving after Dad died. Dad tried to teach her in a manual. That was usually a disaster with getting the horses to pull her out of a ditch. She bought an automatic after Dad died. I’m not sure she ever learned to ‘DRIVE’ but instead learned to aim, accelerate and slide to a stop. I was driving tractors and trucks in the fields by age 10 and on the roads by 14. I got my first license at age 19 along with my first car. I was never stopped by law officers when I was driving until after I got legally licensed. Most times then were because of the neighborhood I was in or the time of night and the officers were just hoping they could find something illegal in the car. I worked nights and was usually out in the wee hours on the weekends. I got one ticket on a made up excuse.
I was born in 1950 and as a little girl I remember my Dad teaching my Mom to drive. I remember the car was a Dodge, stick shift and to make a turn you had to stick your arm out the window to signal which way you were turning. When I was in high school we took driver’s education. Our school sat along Grandview Blvd. There was a huge hill to climb to get to the school. In order to pass the class you had to be able to drive both stick and automatic cars. The teacher would have us stop half way up the hill with the stick shift car and then pull out without stalling or drifting back down the hill. As if that wasn’t bad enough the teacher was the wrestling coach, very intimidating, and there were usually 2 or 3 other students in the back seat. The boys, who could usually drive already would find it hilarious as us girls tried to do this.
When married years ago, my ex tried to teach me how to drive our new stick shift 1967 Camaro. With his temper, it was a massive failure, so I rode the bus to work for two years. When my parents came to visit, my dad took me to an empty parking lot and I learned in about 30 minutes!
My Dad took me to get my license after I finished Driver’s Ed. On the way home, he asked me to drop him off about 3 blocks from our house so he could visit some folks and he’d be home shortly. I was shaking and scared to death for those 3 blocks…it was the first time I’d ever been in the car by myself! I made it and years later, I realized how sweet and wise Dad was to do that. He was building confidence in myself. Sweet memories!
Neither of my grandmothers drove, but my hubby’s grandma drove her car up until she was near 90. His mother also still drives and she is 88. My own Mama didn’t learn to drive until she was 28 years old. Even after that, she didn’t drive very often. I live 5 miles from the nearest gas station and 12 miles from a grocery store. I would be in trouble if I didn’t drive.
Mom had ten sisters and one brother and only one of them got their driver’s license. My aunt got her license but I’m not sure she ever learned to drive based on some of the stories I heard. Dad said some folks couldn’t read or write well enough to apply for a driver’s license. That was no problem, someone who could read was always ready to get one for their buddy.
I’ve known a few folks that didn’t drive. My granny Beth never did. The story goes that she tried once and nearly wrecked and it scared her so bad she never attempted it again. Then there was a few ladies we went to church with growing up. Mrs.Mauney and granny Violet, we always gave them a ride to church after their husband’s passed away. My youngest is turning 21 in a few days and she’s never had the desire to drive…no matter how much we try to encourage her to. She and her husband are expecting their first baby so maybe she’ll be like granny and get her license for the baby’s sake!
Mama never learned to drive. In her later years, she said getting her driver’s license was her one regret. When I was growing up, we had the milkman and the breadman. The dry cleaners picked up and delivered, and the drug store delivered. The doctor made house calls. My maternal grandmother never drove. My maternal grandfather did drive, but I don’t remember him having a car. My paternal grandmother died when my Dad was about 20, and I only met my paternal grandfather once. Daddy’s family lived outside Seattle, and we are on the East Coast. Sadly, my family didn’t have money to travel cross country. A lot of ladies Mama’s age never learned to drive.
When I was 22 my husband and I bought a 1985 Honda Civic Hatchback. The first new car for either of us. He wanted a manual shift because they got better gas mileage and were less expensive than the automatic (or I may be misremembering that part.) Anyway, like Granny, I taught myself to drive that car in my driveway. Our daughter was 18 months old and I would buckle her car seat/ carrier in the backseat and jerk and hop and grind my way back and forth alongside our house, apologizing over my shoulder for the ride I was putting her through, but also singing along with Jimmy Buffet playing from the cassette player. That was a big step up from the external 8 track player attached to a drink holder across the hump in my 1972 Ford LTD that I had driven since my senior year of high school. I can still remember the sense of accomplishment when I drove around the block in that Honda, and then how effortless it eventually felt to drive it, almost without thought, as if I was an extension of the car or the other way around. I gave up stick shifts when I was 40 after breaking my left ankle and tearing all the ligaments. Even after it healed, using the clutch ranged from pretty uncomfortable to moderately painful. I miss it, though.
Your story and all the responding stories were great! I enjoyed reading every one!
I took Driver’s Ed in high school in 1965. Our instructor told us after the class was finished that he could go down and get each of our license’s, but he was going to make us get them ourselves. In those days they had a driving part of the test AND a parallel parking test. I passed the driving part the first time, but it took me three tries to pass the parallel parking. When I finished parking the test officer got out of the car went over by the pole and said, “Well I couldn’t get a sheet of paper between that pole and your car, but you passed.” I think I might have parallel parked once or twice in the almost sixty years since. Today it’s not on the test. I didn’t drive much the next two years because I was dating my husband so he or my dad took me to my after-school job three days a week. When I started college September, 19967 I drove a 1963 chevy Biscayne, daddy had bought me. I gave up trying to drive daddy’s car, which was a stick shift. When I was learning to drive, I almost ran into the garage trying to shift into drive and then almost hit a tree behind me while trying to back up in the driveway. I decided right there that I would only drive automatic shifts. I’ve received only one ticket in all the years of driving for going 15 miles over a 25-mile limit and I’ve had no accidents, and I’ve driven in eight lane traffic when working in Cleveland, O. Today, since retiring, I hardly ever drive except down the road two houses to my neighbors to let her do my hair. My husband does all of the driving. I had cousins in Ky who started driving at 10 or 11 years of age up and down the holler where they lived. The boys today here in Virginia don’t seem as interested to drive. My grandson and two boys at church said they really didn’t care if they learned to drive or not. It surely is a different time because every boy I knew when growing up wanted to drive as soon as possible. Enjoyed your video last evening, Tipper.
I learned to drive on a 64 Chevy Malibu station wagon. It had holes in floorboard!
Richard most of the few cars we had during my school years were already wore out by the time Daddy could afford to buy them. It was not uncommon for them to have holes in the floorboard. I never asked any my girl classmates for a date, because of these cars. During my last year of high school we finally got a car that was a little better. God blessed me when I was 17 and and I started dating a girl (16) that would become my wife. If she had lived, we would celebrate our 50 year wedding anniversary this year.
Good morning! My first car was also an impala…got my license in ’68.it was a 1962 impala of course no power steering,power brakes or electric nothing, and the steering wheel was as big as a tire. i had to sit on a pillow to see over it! But the radio was great!I learned to drive on a Case tractor. Dad would plow and then I would disc .I was in seventh grade. He taught my sister to drive by putting her in a pickup in a field we had just baled hay in and told her to drive around the bales of hay and don’t hit any.[square bales}
My grandparents never drove a car. Granddad Byers ride a mare mist everywhere he went.
I learned to drive in my dad’s ‘41 Chevy coupe. In my carport is a ‘55 Chevy my aunt bought in 1958. Am still driving it.
My Mom never drove. Her Dad died young and her Mom, who also did not drive, never re-married so no parent to teach her. Somehow her older brothers never taught her in her teen years either. When they married and Dad tried he upset her so much she simply refused to learn. We have a tendered hearted niece, natured much like Mom, who has a 21-year old son who has never learned to drive.
Growing up in suburbia during the early 1950’a, many mothers could not drive, so driving schools popped up all over and were very popular. The mom’s would drive around and around nervously showing off. Many were from cities where you had all the public transportation you needed. But suburbia was just the opposite. It was rare for a family to own two cars. Friday was shopping night, and we all piled into the car. I miss that. And all of us going to McDonald’s on a weeknight so mom didn’t have to cook. But what I really miss were vacations along the many newly constructed turnpikes. Families were everywhere as were Howard Johnson’s. And exciting time in American culture and history . . .
My paternal grandparents did not drive when I was a little girl. From what I was told, grandpa and grandma had vehicles before I was born, but decided to quit driving, so we took grandma grocery shopping a lot, and dad, or my aunts, uncles and neighbors would take them to their various appointments when needed. I really don’t know why they made that decision to give up that part of their freedom, but they did. When I think about that, that is kinda scary in a way. Most people worked and those that didn’t were not always home if an emergency did arise! Thankfully that didn’t happen from what I can remember.
My grandparents never drove. A boyfriend taught me to drive. When I started working, a neighbor co-signed for me to buy a Chevy II which I still feel so grateful that he did that for me.
When I arrived at Ft. Bragg, NC for permanent duty, my Sargent was barking orders along the line of “get over to the main hospital and get your Dodge Ram to go do inspections.” He kept on barking stuff and when he got done I said “I ain’t got no license to drive.” He replied “where are you from?” I said “West Virginia and I never had a car to drive before.” He quipped “WV huh-ain’t a bit surprised! Now you got a week to get a drivers license and get with it!” So I did and passed my first try. The way I see it if a feller (or gal) cannot get a job or driver’s license in NC, he or she really ain’t tried at all!!! There’s plenty of jobs there and the drivers test was the easiest I ever took! I confess I HATE to drive and will somebody please drive Miss Daisy here???? Lol I once let the old WV license expire and it took me til the 3rd time to pass cause I refused to read that booklet (cause Im a fart smeller -reverse those two word beginnings and you get smart feller) and after failure 2, I definitely “boned up” so as to pass on number 3. Smh at some of my shenanigans… lol oh im on the road y’all so look out for the silver Tacoma and suicide doors!! Then get outa the way!
I learned to drive in a ’53 1 ton pickup with 4 on the flour. The care shown in the picture looks like a ’55 Chevy Impala we had white over yellow…it was a gem. Thanks for the post and video. Prayers for Granny and God’s Blessing on you family.
Glenda, I am thinking either 55 or 56. I have a friend that restores the 55’s, the last time I talked to him he had 8 one red and white convertible restored to original condition, several of the others one are hot rods. I don’t think Chevrolet made the impalas until 58, I believe until then their top of line cars were Bel Aires. I can’t see the front park/turn signal lights, the 55 had “half moons” and the 56 were square.
My mom never learned to drive. My dad would drive her to the store until my oldest sister learned to drive then as each of the younger sister got their license it then became their responsibility to drive mom anywhere she needed to go.
We preferred our dad to take her, which he did sometimes as we knew he would bring home chocolate covered peanuts (double dipped).
While mom went shopping he would go to the local Sears store to look at craftsman tools. The candy counter was close to the tool Department! Sometimes he disappointed us though and brought home circus peanuts. He loved them. If you don’t know what circus peanuts are I will give you my description: stale marshmallows dyed orange and shaped like a peanut…yuk.
Anytime my mom and dad would go to Sears, my dad would buy the chocolate covered peanuts or raisins and we loved them..as for circus peanuts (they are banana flavored, yuck) they should go back to the circus. Once when I was about 6 years old, we went to visit our grandparents and aunts and my grandma had me give my younger cousins my bag of Halloween candy from beggar’s night (they had no beggar’s or trick or treat where they lived) and she gave me a bag of those disgusting circus peanuts..somehow at 62 I still remember that and how very disappointed I was.
Ha! Thanks Tipper for opening “that memory wormhole”. LOL. Yes, there were a lot of people when I was growing up that did not drive period. Finding people that do not drive today in our area, age and physical condition excepted, is like the landline phones. They are around, but you rarely see them. Sometimes a like situation may still be encountered, but is way less common than when I was kid. In my teenage years my family worked a man in the sweet potato fields who would operate a tractor, but would not drive a car or truck on the highway. Even after I was married in the mid-80’s there was neighbor near me that didn’t own a vehicle and he did not drive. He depended on others to drive him wherever he might need to go or to deliver items to him. Some people simply never learned to operate a motor vehicle. Some could not afford a vehicle while others might drive locally, but would not drive in “town”. Others did not want to “fool with” getting a license. I knew some that fit all of those categories and others.
I learned to drive on a stick shift 58 Chevy when I was about 11-12 years old. Learning to clutch was no problem, I had been driving a tractor for several years before this. A lot of country kids in my area drove for several years on the back roads before they were old enough to get their license. I drove a stick shift Falcon when I got my license at 15 and then at 16, I got my license to drive a school bus-granny 4 speed and no power steering. My maternal grandparents owned a 49 Chevrolet but grandmother never drove and granddaddy would only drive a short distance to a country store, if they needed to go anywhere else my mother would drive them. As for picking up someone, we had a dearly loved black couple in our neighborhood Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank, they did not own a car. Uncle Frank had a crippled leg and could not get around too good, Aunt Mary would walk to the country store about 2 miles away to get her groceries, only 1 or 2 bags, no more than she could tote. There was very few times when someone at at the store would not take carry her home. I have always loved driving stick shifts and would have a stick shift today if it was not for my knees hurting so bad. Today manual transmissions are rapidly becoming a thing of the past- best security feature on a car to keep someone from stealing it.
Tipper, it is not the grass I am fighting, it is the dad blame deer, they jumped a 6 foot chicken wire fence the other night to get into my green beans. I have never had them bother my corn stalks.
I just love hearing about your heritage. Even something like driving cars and getting to church. It makes me think of mine and it wasn’t so great. My dad was married 8 times, his dad was married 3, and I do believe his dad had multiple wives. They were all alcoholics, so that might explain a lot.
I chose a different route.. I was determined to fix that generational curse. I met my husband and told him it was for life, no divorce. We’ve been happily married 22 years and he a preacher too. Our kids and one day our grandkids will be able to look back at that difference.
Sorry to get off topic. Your posts always take me back and get me thinkin. I love reading them because of that.
Congratulations on being the change. When you give your life to Jesus and your decisions are led by Him, things are so much better. I’m so sorry for the rough time you had but I’m glad you can see the wonderful difference you have made…for generations to come! Have a wonderful day, my friend. Continued blessings on you and your family. (Jane in SC)
Laura (my mother’s name) I am thankful for you turning things around. There was no alcoholics or even anyone that I know of to drink in either mine or my wife’s family. I think this is one reason the was never/are any madnesses, fussing or fighting when we have get to gathers. I did grow up around neighborhood alcoholics and saw the problems it caused for their families. I remember a former alcoholic saying no one takes their first drink intending to become an alcoholic. Heck, I never needed alcohol to act like a fool! I can do that drinking water or nothing stronger than a drank (southern for soda pop).
Tipper, I remember kids driving by themselves with just a permit too back in the 80s. My father tried to teach me to drive once. It ended with tears and a few slammed doors! In the end, I had some older friends that my Daddy paid to teach me. I taught both my brother and sister to drive as well. My third child just got her license at 17. One more to go!
When I was in high school, I taught my mother to drive in our 1948 Fleetline chevvy. That was a trip! She mastered shifting and parallel parking in an empty playground at a country school near our home. She was 39 or 40 years old. Neither of my grandfathers ever owned a car. Family members gladly provided transportation as needed.
I remember my mother telling me there was no test of any kind to get a license when she got hers.
My grandparents didn’t drive either. Better yet, grandpa did all his farming and went where he needed to go with horse and buggy! How lucky I was to be able to sit beside grandpa as we went to a little local grocery to sell grandma’s eggs! We were quite the novelty! When he had big things to do, mom would drive him to town so he could peddle his strawberries or raspberries. He often said about my grandma “if there was a car headin to town, she was in it.” I’m so blessed for all the memories I have of them and their home with no electric, no plumbing, cooking on a wood stove…I was so blessed to get to live life that most people hadn’t lived in half a century or more.
My grandma used to drive and I have vague memories of her driving me around town when I was little, but she never would drive in any kind of inclement weather and it’s been decades since I’ve seen her drive at all. I grew up on 4 mostly flat acres and we were driving the old jeep Cherokee around the yard when we were 12 or so. My first car was a $200 geo storm that you could literally hear coming a mile away 😀
I loved this post. Full of nostalgia. Made me think of time. How time was used then versus how time is used now. Such a rushed world we live in these days.
Great post! I learned to drive in an impala also, boat for sure…then 3 days before school started my parents bought me a stick shift Celica…no clue what I was doing, but I drove it to school..
Neither of my mother’s parents drove, both having been born in the 1880’s. One of my mother’s cousins taught her to drive in 1922 at the age of 10, so my grandfather got a car so she could drive them as needed. My mother said she knew many young children who drove in those days to help parents who never wanted or learned to drive.