"The first time I drove"
One Summer day, I went on the road construction site to visit my Dad, brother, Uncle, and cousins. My Grandfather ( Angelo ) was there too, although retired at the time. Bulldozers, Graders, Rollers, Loaders, Trucks and anything with a motor were zooming everywhere in what seemed to me to be a senseless rat race.
One truck was sitting there not moving, as everyone else seemed to be on every other machine. This truck was a 1956 Ford 5 ton Stake Body. Gramps saw I was not busy, so told me to "go mova the truck." I told him that I did not know how to drive yet, only being 11 years old. He said, "today you learn".
I hopped into the drivers seat and Gramps was standing on the running board. He gave me step by step instructions,
"Push a da clutch"
I said, "what's that ?"
"the one close a to me ... Start em up"
I looked at the instruments and saw a key, so I turned it, nothing happened.
"Push a the button", he said.
The truck had a starter button. It started !
"Give em some gas". I floored it.
"Let out the clutch"
We bounced up and down and chugged ahead about 500 feet. At 11 years old, I was so small, I could not see out the windshield. Then Gramps says, "OK stop here". I hit the brake pedal which went straight to the floor. The truck was so old, you had to pump the brake pedal to build up pressure. We were not stopping. Gramps reached in and turned off the key and the motor whined us to a smooth stop.
"Now you a truck driver", Gramps said.
I moved that truck around the job the rest of that day, and most of that summer.