Jack’s Winning Words 1/8/16
“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.”  (FDR)  I learned to drive using a stick shift, a brake pedal, a clutch pedal and the gas pedal. The tricky part came when I had to stop on a hill without stalling.  Brake, clutch, gas.  Brake, clutch, gas.  Have you tried it?  Kill the engine and the cars behind start honking.  A President (Democrat or GOP) finds that out when he’s “driving” the country.  It’s the same.  Honk!  Honk!    ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Can you go forward by going backward?   (this is not a rhetorical question but a question of ignorance)====JACK:  Sometimes when you reach a dead-end you have to retrace your steps in order to move forward.  Perhaps you remember the song..."Will you remember the famous men,  Who had to fall to rise again?  So take a deep breath,  Pick yourself up,  Dust yourself off,  Start all over again."

FROM HAPPY TRAILS IN NOVA SCOTIA:  There’s a story (perhaps true, perhaps urban legend) that a bank robber left his car running but accidentally locked himself out. When he discovered he couldn’t jump in his car, he hijacked an adjacent car, forcing the occupant to leave. Unfortunately for him, it was manual transmission, and when the police arrived minutes later he had only progressed partway down the block.====JACK:  It would be interesting to see today's teen driver get into a stick shift car and try to operate it.  Perhaps it would be like me trying to send a text message.

FROM HUNGRY HOWIE:  I was teaching my youngest daughter(who was 21 at the time, she had her license at 16) to drive a stick, as we were coming up a slight rise the traffic light at the crest was turning yellow, she would not make it through by the time it turned red, this was the conversation:
Her: I’m not stopping
Me:  you won’t make it
Her:  I’m not stopping
Me:  you have to stop
Her:  I’m not stopping
Me:  Stop
Her:  no
ME:   STOP
Her:  no
Me: (silence, at this point I closed my eyes)
She stopped, she stalled, she got it started, we drove away
We laugh about this a lot, she’s 32 now and drives an automatic
====JACK:  Oh, the joys (and remembrances) of being a teaching parent!

FROM TARMART REV:  A few year ago now, I took a bus to Little Rock, AR to pick up my son's car and drive it back to Minnesota . . . a stick shift . . . hadn't driven one for many years . . . we decided I would drive it around town the day two I was there . . . a little embarrassing having the car die a couple times, not coordinating the "brake, clutch, gas!! 0;-/====JACK:  I had that same experience with a friend's Corvette...talk about being embarrassed...with him standing there!

FROM CB IN GAYLORD:  Brake, clutch, gas -- that brought back memories of learning to drive on a VW bus. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.====JACK:  Mary's brother used to tailgate semis while driving his VW bus, thinking that he would get better gas mileage.  Ask N if it really worked.
====CB:  I asked him. He chuckled and said that it probably did. We had lots of fun with that bus. It did not go much over 50 mph and was like a sailboat on windy days. But it sure was roomy for the 4 kids and all the "stuff" we hauled around.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  I remember it well!  Loved that hill going up to Kellog from Shepherd’s Rd.  It was AWFuL!!  I was always thankful when that light was green!====JACK:  Driving was really challenging when you had to "learn" to drive.  No turn signals, either.  Arm out the window...Up, right; straight out, left; down stop.  Or, was it up, left?====MARLYS:  Up-right   Down- stop    Straight out—stop!  I still remember!  What a pain!  Ha!====JACK:  Check answer #3 again.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Our grandson Joshua can drive a stick.  He's 16.  Someone from  his church gave him a car which hadn't been driven for a year.  It was filled with mouse nests including one that had baby mice in it.  Josh cleaned it all up and with the help of his dad, got it running. ====JACK:  A car like that is what memories are made of.

FROM LBP IN PLYMOUTH:  My husband got a manual transmission when we were first married. He taught me hills by going to the theater parking structure on campus on a Saturday morning. Up and down the ramps I went. I did ok with the stopping. It was starting without stalling (or rolling backwards) that worried me.====JACK:  It seems as though most stick shift learners have had the same problem, but, like with everything else, practice makes perfect (almost).  I thought it interesting that no picked up on the "honking at Presidents" reference...or honking at any leadership.====LBP:  I saw it, but am not in touch with politics right now so I've got no clue who could use a little honking these days. To extend the driving analogy, I tend to reserve honking for a last resort or if there is an impending crash to alert someone about. In my life, I may have written 2 letters 'honking' at government officials.====JACK:  I'm not a "honker" either, but I do have opinions.