Practice Driving

The beginning of the day was sleeping late, but that's not interesting!! We slept late because I had an ortho doc appointment. G was going into work later after my appointment.

Ortho guy usually runs on time, but not today. He was running over an hour late. When he came to our room, it was obvious why. His brain wasn't in the office today. Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't have any other doctor cutting on me to do total joint replacements! He likes to talk to his patients. What I meant was that Valarie wasn't with him today. She is his right hand man. She takes care of all the little things like scheduling surgeries, keeping him moving, and so on.

Anyway, he asked me to raise my right knee. This was the latest one replaced. I wish you could have seen his face when I was able to raise it almost straight out! He was amazed. But then I have amazed two different physical therapists too. I seem to get over these well.

My big thing was driving. When???? He said that I could do practice driving. What!?! Am I 14 again? That made me think back to when I was doing practice driving. My dad would take me out in the old '53 Ford sedan. It was a stick shift, and the emergency brake was the old "umbrella" sort. For you youngsters, that is one that has a handle on it like an umbrella, and it was located on the right side of the dashboard.

He would take me out to what was at that time far northwest San Antonio. That is the area where the Hill Country began to send it's tendril of small hills into the city. Even small hills looked like the Matahorn to me when I had to stop at the stop sign at the top. I found that all my appendages didn't work together. I had an impossible time pushing on the gas a little while letting out that blasted clutch. So when the motor died (was massacred by me), I would have to pull out the emergency brake, restart the engine, and NOW push the brake in a little, give a little gas, and let the clutch out a little.

I think we spent hours there. The whole time I stayed in San Antonio, there were areas I would stay away from like the plague if I were in a standard shift car. So guess what my first car was - yep, it was a standard. Can you say stupid.

G told the doc he would let me practice drive on county roads this weekend. I know the doc's idea was the nice paved roads around this county - not the rough, unpaved roads around the SSB. But I am going to practice drive on the back roads to Target tomorrow!!