I learned to drive a BOAT!

Drivers Ed was a high school course - taught by real Teachers using cars loaned to the HS
by local car dealerships ... the Fleet had a Chevy, a Dodge, something else,
and The Car - a HU-Mungus 1960 Caddy --- bigger than a school bus!

Since I drew the "senior instructor" - guess which Ride I was assigned to?
First Day of class, Teach wanted to go uptown on an errand ... we all headed out to the Caddy.

"Who's got a littl behind-the-wheel time already?"
I looked at The BOAT and thunk this is NOT the time to admit I had a couple hours of
experience thanks to Mom & Dad and a Stage Crew senior who'd let me pilot his souped-up
stick-shift Chevy a few times after shows in the auditorium. I played DUMM!

"HEY, Phred - you've got some wheel time - I've seen you in that hot chevy!
Let's do our walk-around!"
*NUTZ!*

I shudda packed a lunch ... out of breath before we got half way around the thing!
I checked the oil - the stick was longer than I was tall!
"Hop in"

It took two hands to get the barn door closed again. The other two kids looked *lost*
in the back seat - all four of us could have fit back there without any crowding!
We did a shake-down lap around the parking lot - I didn't bounce off any curbs so I
I got a feild promotion to Road Qualified and we headed off to the Big City of uptown.

1960's Pittsburgh, and all it's suburbs, did "mass transit" with either buses or "Street Cars" -
huge railroad car-sized steel monsters that ran on RAILS that were flush to the
concrete or brick pavement - and ran down the center lanes of all major roadways!
"Trolley Tracks" would catch a tire and toss your car a foot to the left or right before you knew
what had happened! Usually right beside one of the raised platform "safety islands" built
between the center & curb lanes for Trolley passengers to board a Trolley from.

Despite my strong protests - I navigated a mile & a half of Trolley Tracks, and dodged
several safety islands, before we reached Teach's destination. THEN he told me to "wait"
in the curb lane, RIGHT Beside a safety island - a serious No-No in Pittsburgh -
while he ran into the store! ... I pictured the Cops towing us away.

"Our Caddy" managed to survive Drivers Ed with all it's fenders intact.
I learned to almost enjoy piloting it around town - figured I could handle a City Bus
if I ever needed to! And the "little" family Chevy handled like a sporty car!