Guys AYM/February

I'm starting right off by saying that for whatever reason, I'm having trouble with this post. It looks a mess, but while trying to "fix" it, I nearly lost it, so I'm not taking any more chances.

The topic for the guys this month was to tell a story about their first car or driving experience. They all really "got it" this time by actually writing the stories down!! Way to go guys! Some of the gals said they learned things they didn't know before. My point, exactly!!!

 After our last meeting, I emailed Jack to see if he would like me to make a "storybook" for him as Connie doesn't scrapbook. Connie said he was very excited. He had his pictures and journaling on a flashdrive by Tuesday. So much fun to work with such a willing subject! This is his first "5@5" page. Nancy made the shirt for me when we were at Kinderhook Lodge on our scrapbook retreat. If you look closely at the pictures, you can pick out each of the grandkids in Jack (just click on any picture to see it bigger).

Here is Jack's "Just Drive" page chronicling many of the cars in his life including his first "pedal car."

 This is Butch's page "You managed to get it in the ditch, you better figure out how to get it out!" Butch tells the story of how his dad was trying to teach his brother how to drive the Volkswagon. Walter just couldn't get it---his dad was pretty intimidating. Then you had 15 year old, Butch in the back seat saying, "Walter, all you have to do is...." to which Walter finally lost his temper and said, "well if you think you can drive it, then go ahead." And of course, Butch, DID!!

Butch then added the title story about his dad letting him take the car at 15 to drive his cousin Irvin Dale in Oklahoma. Butch backed it into a ditch. About an hour later, his dad and Uncle Happy pulled up in a pick-up truck and said the title line, then got back in the truck and drove off. They waited awhile longer until a farmer on a tractor happened along and pulled him out. Upon returning to his grandmother's, no one said a word. Butch says he figures they learned their lesson!!

Here's Jim's layout "Burnin' Rubber" by my sister, Jeanne. Pretty impressive---a teenager with a "vette."

"Bill Got a Volkswagen" was Nancy's title. She "won" the award (okay, no real award) for her creative use of the bottlecaps---as hubcaps (which I did too) but she added something over the top to make them look like wheels. Very clever---until she admitted that by the time she bought those, went by the Volkswagen place and bought a sticker and keychain (which she didn't use) She was over an additional $20. into the page. Maybe not so clever after all.

Pam chose "Used Cars: You've Come a Long Way Baby" for Hugh's title. She did her journaling over the top of the old Chevrolet logo she found on the internet. 

Bruce's page is titled: "Driving Milestones." One of the neatest things about Karolyn's pages is that she has lots of memorabilia that she is able to incorporate. She used an old Auto Insurance Record folder to house Bruce's story. He also found the original bill of sale.

I'm telling you, these girls are good!!!

The guys had a great time sharing their stories. Then I had to share mine---and I'm sharing it here too because, after all, this is MY blog and ultimately about ME! Wink ;)!!

My best friend, Reenie and I, were 16 years old. She had her license for exactly one week---and I didn't have mine yet. We were applying for a job soliciting door-to-door for Charles Chips. We were to pass out small sample tins to get people to let the truck stop by their house. Anyway, the guy interviewing us  asked if we had our licenses, Reenie said "yes" and I fibbed---thinking I was getting it any day---I ended up failing it the first time, but that's another story. The guy then asked if we knew how to drive a standard transmission. We said "yes" because we thought that meant regular! They gave us---2 sixteen year old girls---a 1963 Chevy company car---that we could use outside of work if we paid for the gas. Are you kidding me??! I still can't believe it. When we figured out it had a clutch, we knew what to do, but had never done it before. After a few stalls, Reenie managed to bounce it out of the parking lot. That's how I learned to drive a stick. We liked the car better than the job. We spent more time riding around in the car than we did working. What an amazing, unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience. Those were the days.....