Driving Lessons?

When I was really little, my mom didn't drive. We only had one car, and dad pretty much drove us around wherever we needed to go, or if he was at work we would get a ride with someone who was going where we were going (church, school, store, etc.).

There came a time when my dad was carpooling with a guy from his work. (My dad was a police officer with the LAPD.) So on certain days, our car just sat at the curb in front of our house.

My mom, independent and somewhat a risk taker, got it in her head that she was going to learn to drive. Now that may not sound like such a big deal, however, my mom had polio when she was a kid and her leg (the left one I think) had no muscle tone and she sort of "drug it" around. So driving a stick shift car was challenging to say the least.

I am sure that the reason she did this on her own without telling my dad was that he would have not believed she could do it. So she would go out and get in the car when dad was at work (on the days he carpooled) and drive up and down our street. Osborne Street was a "main" road in that part of the valley. Scary, huh?

I have no idea how she managed the clutch, but she was determined and learned to do it and do it in some sort of passable manner. After she had gotten good enough, she finally announced to my dad that she knew how to drive and took him for a spin. I seem to remember him being pretty sceptical, but amazed.

At some point, they got an automatic transmission car. I am guessing they got it before she took her driver's test. I remember hearing stories about how when she went to DMV, they made her walk up and down in front of the clerk, who then called another clerk, who then called the supervisor. Finally they pronounced her "okay" to proceed with her driver's test. (Can't imagine that happening in today's world. Can anyone say "lawsuit?")

Anyway, she got her license and never looked back. She became very independent and drove everywhere. She was definitely a gutsy lady in many ways. Not sure I would have gotten in a car by myself in a standard transmission and taught myself to drive.