We just got a car with a standard transmission, an oddity in today’s world. It hadn’t been driven for quite a while, so I thought it would be good to have the oil changed. While they were doing the work, I settled into the waiting room and read a magazine. It wasn’t long before they finished, and a young lady in mechanic overalls came to get me.
“I couldn’t pull your car around for you,” she said. “I don’t know how to drive a standard.”
I smiled. I recently read a story about a man who was sitting in his car in a parking lot reading a newspaper while he waited for his wife. Two men came up, jerked his door open, and threw him to the ground. They then jumped inside, planning to steal his car. But it was a standard transmission, and they obviously didn’t know how to drive it because they soon fled the scene, leaving the car as they found it.
How we got our new car is a story in itself. When I say “new,” I mean new to us. The car has around 315,000 miles on it. But the story is worth telling.
There is a group on Facebook that shares stuff with each other. Instead of selling what they have, they offer it for nothing to someone who can use it. Likewise, when a person needs something, they are free to ask for it in the group. Whether they get it or not depends on whether someone has it to share.
My wife, Donna, is active in this group. She especially likes to share starts of plants, but as we have been moving into our later years and downsizing, there have been many things that Donna has given away.
At Christmas time, the group encouraged members to post something they could use, and everyone would attempt to fill the Christmas need lists as much as possible. A couple of young men independently posted that they could use a car. “It’s freezing walking to college every day,” one said. “If we can get a car,” the other said, “we could share rides.”
In response to their request, a lady posted that she had a car available. “It has 311,000 miles on it and is banged up a bit, but it runs well.” She then went on to say that she had gotten to the point she couldn’t drive anymore, and the apartment complex where she lived wanted the car removed from the parking lot.
At first, the boys were excited about it, but then she posted one other thing. “By the way, I forgot to mention that it has a standard transmission.”
Immediately, all the chatter by the two boys about the car ended. Donna felt bad to think a lady had so kindly offered her car only to be ghosted on the posting, so she decided to write something to help the lady feel better. “It is so kind of you to offer a car,” Donna said. “And standards are so fun to drive.”
A few days later, the lady called Donna. “Would you like the car?” she asked. “I really have to get it out of the parking lot.”
Donna picked me up, and we drove over to the apartment building. The lady gave Donna the keys, and I tried to start it, but it hardly flickered. It hadn’t been driven for over a year, and the battery was dead. I had expected as much, so I brought a jumper. With a bit of power, it fired right up.
The car was a little dented, was missing a bumper, and it took me some work to get the trunk to latch, but it runs like it’s new. It has become my car of choice when I drive around town and don’t need my pickup to haul things. I have already put thousands of miles on it.
I guess the old adage is true. Knowledge is power. And it also helps in driving a car with a standard transmission.
