When did you learn to drive?
I remember vividly (long before seat belts were the norm), at the age of 7 or 8, sitting on my daddy’s lap as he let me steer the car down Highway 35 on the way to my grandmother’s house. That was a very long, black Oldsmobile car we referred to as the “Batman car” because of the tailwings on the trunk.
From then, there was no stopping me. I asked to drive every chance I got. Later on, when I could finally reach the pedals, I was able to drive his old yellow Ford truck. Drove in the pastures, drove on the roads, etc.
Just like my brothers, we all learned to drive tractors, farm equipment and anything that moved. All my siblings and I could drive a stick shift — on the floor or on the column. If you know what driving “three on the tree” is, then, like me, you might be showing your age.
When Clay and I got married, we were a one-vehicle family. Since we both worked at the same place, it was not a big deal. But sometimes a girl needs her independence. My dad went to an auction, where he spotted and bought a 1987 light blue Yugo. It only cost $250 and came with an extra motor (ha!), which he put in and delivered to my house.
It was one of my absolute favorite cars to drive. It was a five-speed and was temperamental. I was about the only one who could coax it into reverse. It did not have an air conditioner, but I didn’t mind. I zipped all over the place in that little car. One of my favorite memories is during a winter snow, my sister had come to visit and stay with us. It had snowed and then iced over the snow. My sister and I got in the little Yugo and drove all over the field beside and behind our house, sliding around and doing donuts.
Years later, I would get my very first brand new car. It had 6 miles on it when I received it and had the wonderful new car smell. Only a few weeks after proudly driving it around, I walked out to the carport one day to discover that our very smart kindergarten daughter had taken a nail and largely scratched her name into the hood. Kelsey was so proud that she could write her name. I was, too, but certainly wished she had picked another place to practice her writing skills.
There would be a few more cars — a Buick LeSabre that the kids referred to as the “granny mobile,” a sporty little Oldsmobile Alero, and a wonderful Chevy Trailblazer that I drove for 10 years. Following that was my GMC Acadia, which we have now had for just over 12 years.
So when it came time to car shop once again, I knew that I wanted another Acadia. I searched diligently online for a used one that had less than 50,000 miles and had all the features that I wanted.
After quite a while searching, bingo! I found one I was interested in. It was located in Memphis, so the hubs and I traveled there on our anniversary weekend to take a look.
Now remember all those things I told you that I could drive? Well, I am little embarrassed to say that when the salesperson climbed in beside me for the test drive, I had to ask, “How do you drive this thing?” I am used to a key to crank and a gearshift to make it move. Some newer cars, like this Acadia, come with a push start and stop engine. This Acadia has buttons with P that you push and R, N and D which you pull with your finger.
We decided that it had all the features we wanted, only 40,000 miles and a good price, so we brought it home.
Once home, we were pushing buttons, adjusting things, turning knobs and then, bam! I pushed a small SD card tucked into a compartment below the shift buttons. Turns out that card had the maps for the navigation system and should never be ejected while the vehicle is cranked. So, it was toast. Son Brandon and Clay started researching and discovered, by some estimates, it might cost up to $800 to fix the system. Luckily, my smart husband discovered he could get a replacement card for $35 and it works like a charm.
We still don’t know what a lot of the computerized systems and all the buttons do, but we will figure it out eventually, I suppose. As Clay says, “Ignorance is not always bliss.”
