My father always knew how to settle me down.
I was a 16 YO kid taking his driver's license driving test. The tester was riding shotgun, I was driving and Hollis was in the back seat.
The tester was giving me the usual lecture on the need to drive safely which I (like anyone else) found really annoying.
He turned to look at my father. A glance in the mirror showed Dad with a deadpan innocent look on his face.
The inspector turned to me. He didn't know what to say so he said, "Listen to your father."
At that point my emotions were exchanged. I now had an entirely different set of problems. I was no longer a nervous, annoyed teenager. I was now a confident kid that now had to drive while keeping a straight face while trying not to laugh his ass off.
There was another hurdle. I was driving Mom's car which had an automatic transmission. The meant I would probably be restricted to automatics. Hollis fixed that, too.
As we were pulling in after the test Hollis said to him, "We took my wife's car because we didn't want you to have to ride around in a ratty shitbox. Besides it needs a good airing out after one of the kids left something under the seat. It's a standard and that's what he learned on."
"Thank you," he laughed. "I'll take you at your word."
And that is how I got an unrestricted license.
===============================
Edited to add, after I read this I looked back and when Dad told the inspector that the Falcon needed a good airing out because one of the kids left something under the seat the poor bastard probably envisioned having to sit on top of a couple of rotting lobsters or something along those lines.
Back when a person's word usually meant something, and thus one could take them at it.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDelete