Quote Originally Posted by Cinder & Smoke
CAR??

I had to feed & water ole Dobbin before hookin him to the wagon!

I actually had several "learner" cars:

First was a hopped up Chevey with a 4-speed - one of the Seniors on Stage Crew
used to let me try it out in the school lot after shows ... a year before I had my "permit".

The Family Bomb was a '56 or 57 Chevy ... not quite a "muscle-car"!

The High School Drivers Ed ride was the BOMB!! >>>


Each of the local auto dealers "loaned" a new car to the school for a year's use in
the Driver Ed program - taught by real, certified, full-time Teachers back then.
Program was so popular I couldn't get in till summer school, a couple months after I
turned 16. Mom felt sorry I was "delayed", so she took me out for some limited practice.

Class Day 1 ... we had 3 Teacher/Instructors, 9 students, and 3 new cars ...

I wound up with the "Senior" Instructor, who wound up picking the Caddy as his "Ride".

FIRST DAY ... "Anybody had ANY experience behind the wheel?"

I still haden't learned NOT to raise my hand ...

"OK, Phred, pre-trip the car and Hop In!
Head for up-town ... I gotta run an errand!"


I've never been IN something this HUGE ... it feels like a Mack Truck!

"Up-Town" in Mt. Lebanon involved navigating over Trolley Tracks ...
steel railroad tracks embeded in the concrete roadway - which had the nasty habit
of tossing the rubber-tired Caddy Boat just about anywhere but straight!

WHAT an experience that summer was!
But it WAS a good learning experience - being able to handle that BOAT of a car
meant a more "normal-sized" set of wheels handled like a sporty car!

Phred, being native to Pittsburgh I've driven on a lot of cobblestone and trolley tracks. Driving on them uually does a number on your front end alignment! Another fun experience is driving on them when they're covered in ice and snow!