ME AND THE CAR
Penny For Your Thoughts by: Nancy Whitaker
Most of us can’t wait until we turn 16 and get our driver’s license. Driving that car for the first time, you might wave at Mom and Dad, honk at your friends, and then perhaps drive around town.
I had 4 children, and each time one got their driver’s license, I worried each time they drove anywhere.
I remember letting them drive to a department store, to the park, to Grandma’s, and eventually to school. I think it gave them a sense of responsibility.
But, looking back at my own driving, I will say my kids were better drivers than I was (shhhhhh). I had a bad time trying to get my own drivers license. Why? Well…
First of all my cousin thought she would help me by loaning me her car. Her car was a big old white Buick. For the life of me, I could not parallel park that car. So I flunked.(each time I went to parallel park I got to try three times so that made three chances every time I tried.
A month later I went back with that same big car and flunked again. The driving instructor just looked at me and shook his head. I had one more try.
The third time I took a smaller car and got halfway in the spot. The poor instructor said, “Ma’am, I am going to give you your license and I sure hope I don’t see you again out here.”
I was really proud, but everything wasn’t perfect. One of the first things I did was drive our old Ford 90 mph. Well, somehow the engine must have blown up and was smoking.
No cell phones then so I walked to the nearest house and called my husband. He was not happy because the car was ruined because I wanted to see how fast it would go. I never tried that again.
A couple other incidents happened in snowy weather. I was on my way to work, hit some black ice and was ready to crash into a snow plow. I prayed “Oh Lord if I am going to die here let me be ready, Amen.”
Well, Jesus took the wheel and I stopped right next to the snow plow. I was one happy lady thanking God for his miracle and that I did not meet my maker that day.
Many times I told Jesus to drive with me, but I got so many speeding tickets, that Jesus said “Slow down girl, we have time to slow down and there could be another policeman ahead.”
One other thing about my driving is that I get lost very easy. My best thing to do is to learn one way to get to my destination and follow that way all the time. Memorize and don’t ever try a new way.
One day when working at the paper, I was asked to go to the post office. Well, I could not find that post office and it was in Paulding. I was gone forever trying to find it.
So I called in and said, “I can’t find the post office.” The girls were surprised and could not believe I got lost in Paulding. After I got to realize where the Post Office was, I saw that I had been almost on top of it and had just been driving up the wrong street for an hour.
Enough about my driving so let me ask you if you have ever had a speeding ticket, almost hit a snow plow or got lost in Paulding Ohio? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny For Your Thoughts.
