Driving with Dad

My siblings probably know this, but not the kids......

August 7, 1972
I had just turned 16 and Dad, desperately wanting another driver in the house, took me to get my beginner's licence. I aced the written test, after which I drove to the shopping plaza on Dougall. I drove perfectly, pulled expertly into the parking spot and rather than skillfully apply the brake, I hit the gas. Yup, not the brake, but the gas! Dad desperately tried to slam on the special drivers instructor brake that he was used to using in the driver's ed car (He taught that at the high school.), but alas, it wasn't a driver's ed car, it was our car, and there was no instructor brake. The car careened up and across the front bumper of another car. Dad guided me to get us off of the other guy's car, put a note on his windshield, and insisted we go into the store for whatever we were there for. He told me there was no real damage, just our paint scraped onto the bumper. Dad wouldn't let me see the damaged side of the vehicle until we got home. I was shocked to see that there was a long scratch/dent going from the front wheel well to the middle of the back door. I felt horrible, but he showed no negativity at all. To my knowledge, the other driver never called about it.

Dad was like that. He didn't overreact in situations that most would. He let life teach us the lessons. I think I would have felt better if he had got even a little mad.

The Fishing Date

(This story is from Mom as she came out of her anesthesia the other day.)

     Meme and Pepe owned a cottage by the water.  Dad and Mom were engaged and he wanted to spend the day with her so he said, "Why don't I come up and we can fish?"  Mom said that was okay and they spent the day fishing.

     At the end of the evening, Dad said to her that he was glad to spend the time with her even though he hated fishing at which point she also admitted to hating fishing but thought he must like it and so had agreed.  He had just assumed she liked fishing since she went to the cottage...

They never fished again!!!

1982ish

Christmas? 1982

??



The walls were really much greener.....