by Thomas Hoyt
When I was a lot younger, back when I was a teenager, I was really excited when I had taken driver’s training and received my learner’s permit. Upon receiving my learner’s permit, my dad decided to take me out on some dirt road in the middle of farmland Cass County to have me practice driving. Now, we were in his 1979 Dodge pickup truck. This was a work truck special! It had a slant 6 engine, no power steering, no power brakes, and a manual transmission with 3 on the tree (if you know what 3 on the tree means, I applaud you)! So dad pulls over to the side of this dirt road in the middle of nowhere and has me get behind the wheel. This is my very first time operating a manual transmission automobile. So I followed his instructions regarding the clutch and did get the truck going with a good buck and go! 🤣 I was able to shift through the gears successfully and had the truck rolling along. It came time to stop, so I naturally pushed the clutch in with my left leg and then the brake pedal with my right leg. I pushed with all my might with my leg on the brake pedal and finally did get the truck to stop with a tiny bit to spare from the intersection! If I had known then what I know now, I would have put the shifter to neutral and used both legs on the brake pedal. LOL! 🤣🤣
Keep laughing folks! 😊
The Buchanan Chronicle 