My teenage years......

[Pappy]

[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]My Terrible Teens. [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]I never really got into much trouble with the law but did my share of not so smart acts. Much of it started when I started driving and showing my independence.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]My first driving experience was my step-fathers 41 Oldsmobile with Hydro- matic transmission. It didn't take me long to ruin the transmission as it was not built to take the abuse I gave it. I was pretty much banned from driving this car after this.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]My Dad gave me my 2nd car, my 37 Buick Special Coupe. I spent many days cleaning and waxing and painting big white sidewalls on the tires. You started this car by holding the clutch down and step on the gas pedal which engaged the starter. I would turn on the key, step on the gas pedal, without holding the clutch down, and away we would go. I drove the devil out of this oil burner but I had a ball with it. I use to go to a junk yard, on Hale St., and buy transmissions for $15.00 and take them up to Bill Guinns barn to replace them. I replaced at least 3 that I can remember.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]From there it was a 41 Ford, 46 Ford and a 49 Ford. By then I was 17, working and pretty much raising hell. One night, Warren Law had his 50 Ford and I had my 49 and for some reason we were in Oxford. We were racing back to Norwich, turning off our headlights and passing each other.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot] When all of a sudden he disappeared. I still had my lights off and oh,oh, a car with a big red light was behind me. I pulled over and two of the biggest, tallest State Troopers got out of their car. I remember I was scared to death but they were very nice. After giving me hell and a speeding ticket, one of them ask me to start my car. I had dual exhaust with pretty much straight pipes so I started it and let it idle. Trooper told me, "step on it boy." I did and he grinned. I thought well here comes another ticket. He said, " better get some mufflers on that young man." Needless to say, I did quiet it down but not too much.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Another time, several of us boys decided to go out back of the A and P store and do figure 8s in their parking lot. It was quite late and didn't think anyone would see us. We were having a ball when, sure enough, two police cars pulled in, I believe two cars was all our town had, and stopped us dead in our tracks. We were told to follow them down to the station, on East Main St., and so we piled in to our cars and had a convoy all the way to the station. I think they had to scare the crap out of us and were going to play, good cop, bad cop. One cussed us out and said he wanted to have us spend a night in jail. The other cop was more gentle and easy going and stood up for us. Anyway, after about an hour of this, we were told to go home immediately which we did. It sure gave us something to talk and laugh about for several days.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[C'est Moi]

 

[Aunt Bea]

We are all very lucky that we survived our youth!

 

[jujube]

Experience: What you got when you didn't get what you expected.

 

[oldman]

My first car was a ‘50 Oldsmobile Rocket 88. I worked hard to make the money to buy that monster. My Dad was away at the time (with the Army), so Mom signed for me to buy it. When Dad got home, he wasn’t happy that I had bought the car, but he soon relented and helped me fix it up for the road.

 

[Pappy]

Teens and loud cars sometimes do not make a good combo. However, the police were much more lenient back then. Received many warnings and only one speeding ticket.

 

[Trade]

When we were in High School my best friend Larry's dad bought a car for him. It was a basic plain jane gray 1954 Plymouth. Six cylinders, three on the column. This was in 1964. It was 10 years old but it was the classic little old ladies cream puff. It only had 30,000 miles on it and it was in mint condition. It had actually been owned by a little old lady who really took great care of it. I envied him that car because it was almost like new. Whereas the car I was driving was a beat up piece of crap.

But Larry hated it. He kept referring to it as “ The little old lady car”. And it didn’t project the image he wanted for himself. When you're 17 years old image is everything, right? So he set himself about destroying it. Everywhere he went he would drive like a mad man. Revving it up, popping the clutch, grinding the gears on purposed, winding it out in first until the engine was screaming, slamming on the brakes, etc. etc. Taking out his frustration of that car. Within a few months that car was a piece of crap. It was a shame.

 

[Keesha]

I didn’t drive until I was a late teenager and then I bought a bike and travelled the country. It was awesome. I left home early and my parents wouldn’t have let me drive any of their cars so it really didn’t matter; my friends did though.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I didn't get my license until I was 20 and working full time!

My parents were not helpful in allowing me to use a car to take the road test so eventually, I hired a local driving academy to give me a refresher and take me for the test.

I was still living at home and I remember when I drove up in my first car my stepfather explaining that there was no room in the driveway for another car.

My life got off to a very, very, slow start but I'm content with the way things turned out!