Hump Day Random thoughts

This was posted on a friends Facebook page. She made a comment about being grateful that she had learned how to drive on a stick shift.

It got me thinking about my own experience of learning to drive.  I went to a small High School north of Ames but they had an excellent Driver's Ed teacher.  I am very grateful for the experience of learning from him.  Not only did he teach the basics of how a car operates but he also gave us some driving experiences which made me a better driver.  One of the experiences was to take us down to Des Moines to drive in a larger city and it was in the evening.

I can remember the nervousness of first learning to drive and the experience of learning how to look ahead as I drove to keep the car steady.  Of course we learned on an automatic shift but then there was my uncle Dave who took it further.  He had an old red Dodge stick shift and he took me out in that and taught me how to use the clutch and to drive the stick.  My grandfather had an extremely old (painted green) pick-up truck which was also stick but the stick was on the floor so I had to drive that also.

Dave made sure I drove as many different cars as he could find for me to drive and because of Mr Peterson (teacher) and Dr. Peterson (Uncle) I have always been a pretty good driver.  It is almost second nature to me.

I have been in a couple of accidents.  Once when a woman backed out of her parking place without looking to see if anyone was coming and of course I was distracted by something (which I won't mention) and another time when we were coming back from vacation in Minnesota and there was a car driven by an older man who turned left in front of me.  I hit the side of his car and we had to have someone come to St. Cloud to pick us up and bring us back to Ames.  It was his fault and his insurance company paid for fixing my car but it never was the same again.

And I have gotten a couple of speeding tickets. I am being very careful these days and I get passed a lot on the road but I can't afford to get a ticket for a while and I find I get better mileage and I get there just as fast.

I wish there was an App that I could use to censor news stories that I don't want to see.  I refuse to read stories about Sarah Palin (it hurts just to type her name) or these assholes (and yes I meant to use that word) who are constantly preaching against gays and women and especially the racist *&*^%%^&*( (and I won't type that word) who constantly fight the President and his family.  I do not know how he keeps his temper but he is a gentleman and he is so much better than they are.  I do not like everything he is doing or has done but I admire him and his demeanor and he will have my respect and I wish him well.  I wonder what he could have accomplished if the crazy Tea Party had not decided that they could do anything disrespectful that they want to do.

Cedar Ridge makes a wonderful Iowa Bourbon and now they make a smooth Single Malt Whiskey.  I scored a bottle of it today and am enjoying a nightcap as I write this post.  It is nice to have such a quality product made right here in Iowa.  

This is my grandfather and me when I was little. He was my father substitute and I am so grateful for his influence on my life. The goodness that came from my grandparents and my mother is something I am grateful for to this day.

Found this on-line and enjoyed it so I thought I would share.



Thanks for stopping by ARTYAL.  Hugz  j