Driving the Gremlin

When I was in high school, driver training was required. It consisted of one semester of classes, and was taken everyday. The first part of the semester would find us in a classroom setting with driving simulators which had a steering wheel, and other simple dashboard accouterments, an accelerator, and a brake pedal. They were just a series of box like things all facing a pull down screen on which our "driving" was displayed. There wasn't any connection between what we were doing and the movie playing on the screen, but it was intended to be good practice and was the best technology the 60's and 70's had to offer.

The coaching staff were the driver's ed. teachers. They sat in the back of the classroom and napped while we "drove" the simulators, and when the second part of the semester rolled around they actually had to take us out in real cars, on real streets, and try to survive our real driving. This must have been their punishment for majoring in Phys. ed. 

We went out 4 at a time with a coach in the car, and all he had was a brake pedal on his side of the front seat. I'll never forget Coach Brown screaming at one of the boys to "Go ahead and drive into the intersection against the light!! I'd LOVE to die today!!" before he slammed on the brake and gave us all whiplash.

In drivers ed. we watched a movie or two, intended to scare us into driving responsibly. They always contained just the right amount of screeching and crashing sounds, and blood, guts, and flashing lights. They closed with a stern warning from law enforcement professionals on the dangers of distracted  driving. Who was to know that one day we would be cruising along with movies playing, satellite sound systems blaring , GPS navigation systems nagging us to turn so they don't have to "recalculate", in cars that are full of cameras, lights, bells, and sensors that would drag us back into our respective lanes if we wandered too far, all while talking on the phone?!  And now, drivers ed. is no longer required. ............Seriously?

 My dad always bought AMC cars. I think it was because they were more affordable, so we grew up in Ramblers. And when he upgraded to a Gremlin, I thought that was pretty cool. I remember the brakes always being sketchy in the Gremlin. So dad taught me how to pump them to keep them working. 

When I turned 15, my dad decided to get a jump on the system and take me out to give me a little experience behind the wheel. It was an era when seat belts cost extra, and air bags hadn't been invented yet, there was no such thing as a cell phone if you had a problem, and we lived in Southern California. Great.

We took a drive up to the back side of Irvine Park, where the roads were hilly, narrow, and winding. He pulled over, got out and made me get behind the wheel, explained that if I kept the center seam of the hood lined up with the right edge of the road, I "should" be ok, sat back and said "go." I wanted to throw up. I wasn't ever a scared-y cat, but that  particular road was not the one I wanted to be surprised with my first driving lesson on. 

But I put it in gear, floored it, and took off. Dad grabbed the dash, and strongly suggested I slow down some. He wasn't a yeller, and managed to contain his panic while I figured out the art of driving while madly concentrating on keeping the seam lined up with the pavements edge. His hair was already white by that time, so he survived the lesson looking exactly like he did before it began. 

I actually passed my driving test on my first attempt, and was proficient even on the freeways by the time I turned 16. I ended up being the primary pick up and delivery driver for my dads business, so spent a lot of time driving the Gremlin. Pumping the brakes. And praying it would stop. 

....we let her drive.

...and so were driven.

....all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. 

Acts 27:15-20