Learning To Drive A Standard

@celticeagle (189792)
Boise, Idaho
February 25, 2017 3:50pm CST
Okay. So our fellow friend and Mylot member, dreamertink @dfollin, has been trying to get me to tell the stories of how I learned to drive a standard transmission after a comment I made in her post "Driving" recently. It is rather embarrassing but here goes..... It was in the mid 80's. I was married to my third husband, RK. (What a wonder he was.) He taught me alot. We decided to buy a new car. I was the money maker in the household so I decided on a Buick. Skyhawk to be exact. He told me a standard transmission would be best and it would be easy for me to learn to drive one. I believed him and bought the Skyhawk with a standard transmission. Big mistake! He attempted to teach me how to drive it in his own way. I recall being at a stop sign at one point. The street wasn't level and you actually drove up to the sign. So, when I went to take off I had to change gears and I would roll back and have to start all over. RK told me over and over the steps I needed to take to change gears and take out from the sign into traffic. I was getting flustered and could not, for the life of me, correspond the clutch and the gears. RK was getting very put out with me. He had driven a standard most of his life and couldn't understand why I couldn't just do it. Finally he yelled at me and got out, came around and got in the driver's seat pushing me over to the passenger side. "I'll do it!" He yelled. That was one instance. Another was when we were over at my in-laws. I had become friends with his older sister. We got on the subject of my learning to drive the standard and she offered to help. So off we went out into the driveway and into my car. She tried. Really she did. And she was so patient. I think that by that time it had become an emotional situation for me. I never have been very coordinated so trying to do one thing with one part of my body, and, something else with another part of my body while under duress had become a real problem for me. We set out in the driveway for a good hour(Really!) before I was able to calm down. Then I was able to back out and drive for a bit around the small farming community and back to their house. The difference between having a gentle voiced, patient individual helping me and my screaming meemies husband was huge. So, with her help I learned in an afternoon what RK had been trying to teach me in a couple of weeks. Later I remarried and my hubby, DY, was much nicer and when I went to drive his truck it took a little instruction and a few laughs to remember how to work the clutch and the gears. I'm just not that coordinated I guess. Thank goodness for the automatic. There ya go dreamertink @dfollin. See why I didn't want to share?
5 people like this
5 responses
• United States
25 Feb 17
Did you remain friends with the sister even after you and her brother divorced? Some people just aren't made to be teachers. That part is understandable, but he really shouldn't have gotten so angry with you. It would have made me so nervous to have to deal with that while I was already nervous about learning to drive the stick shift. I never did learn how to drive a stick shift. I think my mom learned with my dad, which would have been her third "major" relationship. He wasn't married to her, but I am her third child, and both the siblings and I have different fathers... but I digress... I think she told me she learned in a parking lot in her old VW Bug. I don't remember exactly what she said but I think it was quite the tale.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
25 Feb 17
No, he made sure of that. He told his family that if they remained friends with me that he would disown them. He is very vendictive. Now, his sister has forgotten all of that and even embarrassed me by calling him and verifying that everything was okay between us. Like he'd tell the truth. It's a pathetic situation. Yes, some shouldn't teach. He is one of those clearly. I couldn't drive one now. A parking lot is where my granddaughter learned to drive. My last hubby, DY, taught her.
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Feb 17
@celticeagle I am glad you are no longer married to RK then. Vindictive people are a poison to be around! He also seems as if he could have been a very insecure person too. I can't even wrap my mind around him disowning his own family... Which makes me think he's insecure because a normal person might not like their ex being friendly with their family, but they aren't going to issue an ultimatum. Parking lots are wonderful places to learn. You can do three point turns, parallel park, etc. Although Parallel parking isn't a requirement to learn in NC.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Feb 17
@ScribbledAdNauseum ....I think he was very unsecure. He rules his entire family. Yes, my granddaughter learned in an old parking lot no longer used way out on the edge of town.
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@sallypup (69157)
• Centralia, Washington
25 Feb 17
I am not coordinated, either. I remember the days of learning to work the clutch and make the car smoothly move ahead. Emotionally rocked me, too. Probably I couldn't drive a stick shift but for years I did. I'm glad you found a nurturing human to guide you.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
25 Feb 17
To be honest, I am glad I am not alone in this. But, I feel badly that you had such a time with it too.
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@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Feb 17
@sallypup .....That is your charm. We are all individuals.
@sallypup (69157)
• Centralia, Washington
25 Feb 17
@celticeagle I have had talks with myself through the years, learning to accept that I am who I am- uncoordinated but that's just me.
1 person likes this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
28 Feb 17
My dad tried to teach me when I was a teen. That didn't last long as he said I was going to tear out the clutch. Later in life my husband had a standard....never could get the hang of it. In this marriage we got a good deal on a standard from my friend. I really gave it a go but every time I tried to take it out I got frustrated and called someone to come trade cars with me. I know how to drive one, I just don't do it well.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Feb 17
I don't think I do either. Don't like driving long distances.
• United States
26 Feb 17
Learned to drive stick first before auto. I was 16 yrs old.
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@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Feb 17
Sometimes I wish I had too. I didn't learn to drive until I was about 25.
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@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
27 Feb 17
when stressed, being yelled at NEVER helps, but that roll back thing has always had me terrified so I never learned to drive one well.
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@celticeagle (189792)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Feb 17
No, it doesn't.I did learn our of necessity but always had automatics after that.
1 person likes this