Sharing Memories: Getting Your Driver's Licence

Here is a Challenge for all genealogy bloggers. I want you to keep a weekly journal called Sharing Memories. Some of you may recall that in 2010, 2011 and 2012 I provided weekly prompts to help with writing up memories of ancestors and ourselves. 

If you missed this weekly series called Sharing Memories you might want to have a look and see if any of the prompts appeal to you. Many readers asked me to continue with the prompts this year so that is what I am going to do.

If you write your own blog and you are participating in this challenge, please use the hashtag #52SharingMemories if you are posting on Twitter or Google+  That way I can provide links to your blog posts at the end of the week. You can of course post your stories as comments on this blog post or in a private journal. It's your choice! The important thing is to WRITE!

Envoy

Do you remember getting your driving license? Who taught you to drive? What kind of car was it and how old were you? Did you pass your first time? 

I sure remember it. My father had died 2 years before so it was up to my mother to teach me. She took me out to the parking lot behind what used to be the D.I.L. (Defence Industries Limited) Munitions Factory where she worked during WW2. 

I learned to drive in an Envoy with stick shift. I. give my mother credit, she put up with the start-jerk-stall and grinding gears of a 16 year old learning stick shift. 

The problem, which neither of us realized, was that in our little town there was no such thing as parallel parking, so I never learned how to do that. Sure enough when I was being tested in the city of Oshawa, the official wanted me to parallel park. I had no clue how this was done, so I just pulled in, nose first. Needless to say I never did get that car in the parking spot! (Aside: I am pretty good at parallel parking now)

To top it off, I was so nervous at being tested that when I pulled out from the parking lot at the place where testing took place, I ran over the curb onto the sidwalk. Oops. 

Ya, you guessed it. I failed my first driving test. The instructor also said I was making my left turns incorrectly (thanks Mom!). 

I am pleased to say that when I went back a month later to try again I passed. Tell us your story!