So....the boy is going to take Driver's Ed this summer, and it has inspired me to reflect on my many experiences with cars.  I have been accused of being a....ummm..."challenged" driver!  Personally, I think the fact that I correct papers at red lights shows how great I am at utilizing every second of the day!  Unfortunately, not everyone shares this feeling!  Regardless, I would like to dedicate these next few posts to Jay.  May you learn from your mother's mistakes and not make the road an even scarier place to be! 

Driving in Cars - Volume 1

I think that part of the reason I sometimes see road signs as "mere suggestions" is because the laws were A LOT more lax when I was a child.  The seventies were all about peace, love, granola, and free range car travel.  I don't even think the cars of my youth had seat belts. Once the car left the garage, we were free to roam about the cabin - and we did!  I lived in Denver until I was 8 years old, but one set of my grandparents lived in Bountiful, Utah and another set in Las Vegas.  Driving from Denver to Vegas can be PAINFUL when you are 5, so my dad would  boost the entertainment value of our road trips.  We had a huge, green van with benches that could easily (?) be unbolted and removed in just a few short hours!  He would take out the benches and load in our play kitchen - table and all.  Those road trips were THE BEST...unless our tea party was upended by a sharp turn!  Now don't get me wrong.  It wasn't that my parents had no regard for safety.  It's just how things were.  Trust me - I believe my current chest size is due to the "arm seat belt" my mom would constantly thrust in front of me whenever she sensed danger! 

I loved going places with my parents, but my dad was especially awesome.  He would constantly do silly things to keep us entertained.  One of these was to honk the car horn.  I don't know why my sisters and I thought it was SO funny when he honked the horn, but we did!  Like "roll on the floor" funny.  Come to think of it, we probably did roll on the floor.  It sort-of lost it's charm, however, that fateful day in '75 when we were a good half hour from home, he honked the horn for giggles, and....it stuck!  THAT was a long ride home, for sure!

Okay - now I have to confess a dark secret from my childhood involving cars.  On occasion, I used to sneak out of bed and watch shows like "Charlie's Angels" or "SWAT".  I think I understand now why my parents put me to bed before they watched these shows, because I might have developed a tiny bit of paranoia.  I can remember a few times when I would be alone with one of my parents, and they would drive somewhere I was unfamiliar with.  I was POSITIVE that I was being kidnapped!  Somehow, the kidnapper had been able to elaborately disguise himself or herself as one of my parents, and now we were off to a secret hide-a-way.  No worries though!  I knew exactly what to do.  Every time it happened, I would just excuse myself, wander to the back of the car, and mouth "Help me!" to the drivers behind us!  Why my parents were never hauled off to jail, I will never know!  I am just glad that it NEVER worked!  Come to think of it - that may be the reason that seat belts began to be installed.  Awwwww...good for me!