This afternoon I was driving along a country road when I came up behind a old slow-moving minivan. It looked familiar. A moment later I was shocked to realize that my grand daughter, age 15, was driving it. There were several reasons for the shock. I had never seen her drive before. Also I was aware that the old van had a 5-speed manual shift, where their newer car and truck were automatic. But there she was driving. Naturally, her father was with her. He flies jet airplanes, so he is a cool-headed person, who probably wasn't the least bit tense. (Yeah, riiiiight!) Later, I asked her mom why she was driving the van instead of the car. "One of our rules," she said, "is that she can't get a driver's license until she can drive a manual shift." That made me proud.
Howard