Standard Transmissions

It has come to my attention that it is sad that I don't know how to drive a standard vehicle.

I have had 3 standard transmission driving lessons in my life.

The first lesson I received was from my dad. He had a Ford F250 Diesel. It was a beast. I believe I was 13 years old and I drove that man around the farm all day. I mastered it that day...but I never did it again.

The second lesson was from my sister. This adventure was in Toyota Tacoma. This experience was not so successful.

The latest lesson came last night.
I returned home yesterday afternoon from a long day at work. All I wanted to do was crash. I was so exhausted but Jimmy was waiting on me. I walked through the door and was informed that we were having driving lessons. He loaded an ice chest with beer for himself...of course, he backed the truck in so I wouldn't have to begin my driving in reverse and he was ready to go.

So I hopped in the truck. He told me to start it up. So I pushed in the clutch and started the Truck...in case you were wondering it's a GMC Sierra K2500 HD...Jimmy forgot to tell me to push the brake...so the very first thing I did was hit him. I almost ran over him. Most people would call the driving lesson off right then and there...but not Jimmy!

So we get out of the driveway, (after I dumped the clutch a few times) and I make it to my first stop sign. Well of course there is a car behind me. Bless their hearts. They had to sit behind me why the truck kept dying. And of course this happened at every stop sign.

But finally we got to the farm and played the stop/go game for a while. I continued to dump the clutch and take my aggression out on the shifter.

After about 2 hours of driving around the country I was feeling pretty confident about my driving abilities. So we decided to head home. Of course we go to HWY 64 (this is the main hwy that runs through Augusta). In order to get on HWY 64 you have to go up a slight incline. Well there are big trucks flying by, a car behind me (of course) and I completely freak out. All of my lesson has left me. I completely forgot what to do. All I can envision is turning onto 64 and the truck dying and Jimmy and being smashed by oncoming traffic. I became a little hysterical.

Needless to say...we made it! He said that my next lesson will be learning to start on an incline. This should be interesting. I will definitely keep you posted!