Five Minute Friday - Park

On Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write gather to share what five minutes buys them.

Just five minutes. Unscripted. Unedited. Real.
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. THIS WEEK Link back HERE and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Thems the rules!

OK, are you ready?
The topic for today is:

Park…

GO!

 

 
I wasn't 16 when I finally got my Driver's License. In fact, I was just over 18.
It's not like I didn't want it, I just had other friends and family who were driving me all the time anyway, I didn't see the urgency.
I took the written Learner's test at age 16, passed and just never got around to leaning and taking my driving test. I took the written test a few more times to keep my Learner's permit—at that time I think your Learner's ran out after 6 months.

Finally I was feeling ready to take the driving test.
I had been out driving and practicing with my dad several times.
He was a great driving teacher and gave me all the basics I needed not to crash and burn or endanger anyone else on the road.

I even had one or two driving moments with my mom, but they didn't turn out great considering I was driving her manual transmission little car in which I hadn't really practiced before. And there was a hill, and it had been raining! I believe we even had to stop and switch places mid-hill because I just couldn't get the hang of shifting.

One of the best things my parents did for me was give me one driving lesson with a professional driving school instructor.

I was doing well with him on the road, in traffic, until we pulled down a residential road and he asked me to parallel park between two cars.
"Park? Here? Now?" I asked, trepidation evident in my wavering voice.
"Yes, right here looks good. Go ahead"
"But I've never..," I was terrified I would do it wrong and scrape both the instructors car and the cars on the street. Wasn't there some practice area with orange cones I could demolish first?!

However, the wise instructor calmly walked me through what to do.
"Pull up right beside the front car, back up and turn to a 45 degree angle until your front passenger window is even with the other car's back bumper then slowly straighten out as you continue backing into the space" he instructed as I nervously turned the steering wheel. (Of course he added all the safety checking necessary.)

A few moments later, and ta-dah! I had done it! My first time parallel parking and I had nailed it!
I had just needed the right description and the right instructions, simple and straight forward.

I still use his method of parking and still feel like a pro every time I ease into a tight spot without frustration. And I did get my driver's license after one passed road test!



STOP

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