Silly Journal Jar...

Today's Q is..."tell how, when and where you learned to drive- and any memorable experiences you had as a young driver"

A: HA - I really don't remember WHEN I learned to drive. Unlike the average teen, I already knew how to drive by the time I took driver's ed. My father was married to his 2nd wife when we were in TX - I was probably 14 or so. She had a little RED STANDARD Nissan Sentra. I remember taking the car around the neighborhood over and over and over. I would drive at night, during the day,

in the rain, with the lights on, with the lights off, etc.. I got really good at using the stick on hills, at stop signs, and more. Our neighborhood was huge but the houses were few. It was a new subdivision with lots of roads that lead to "no where" because everything was still being built - so this was prime driving location - there was nothing that could really get hurt. No one ever went with me to drive - I just did it! Round and round I'd go!

Then I spent a summer with my mom in Louisiana and I drove her little Honda Civic around the neighborhood too! Later that year, at Christmas, I got money for driver's ed. By the time the driving portion of the class rolled around, I was convinced that this was a waste of time. I already knew how to drive. I didn't need anyone to teach me anything - I was ready to go!!!! So, I made up a little story - I told the teacher that I already had a permit because I got it in Louisiana over the summer - and therefore I'd been driving for a while. I told him that because I got the permit in LA, that I still needed to take Driver's Ed since I lived in TX and TX wouldn't let me just take the driving test. That instructor believed me!! So, my first day of driving, he just sat down and said - let's go to Galveston (30 miles away on the interstate). "SURE THING" I said and we buckled up and away we went. He never corrected me once in my driving, never told me to change lanes, use a blinker, NOTHING! We went to Galveston and back. I never had to drive with the group again, they passed me out of the class with that one night of driving. So my 4 weeks boiled down to 2, I took the test the next week and got my license with 100%!! I've been driving great ever since - 1 accident (not my fault, Tim hit me - I'll tell you that story sometime!) and only 2 tickets (neither of which I had to pay because the officer was an idiot!). So there you have it!! My driving story - fun eh?!