Fast and Furious Five-Year-Old

Our family appreciated a good car. Before my brother and I came along, my dad used to go drag racing. He had a Duster, and I believe a Challenger at one point, as well as a motorcycle. My Mom had a Camaro. Then all the big toys disappeared with the kids. 

I’ve always loved a good thrill and anything with speed. It could have been from the battery-operated fire truck that my brother and I drove around outside as kids. We have a video of Trevor and I when we first got it. Trevor, four at the time, was driving it. I was his passenger getting whiplash. We loved that thing!

We would drive around the farm on it. We’d go from the house out to see our dad. The odd time we’d stop off in the barn for a pop from our fountain machine, and then carry on across the yard again. It was one of my favourite memories from that house. 

I’d say that I’m a curious person. I want to know how and why things work the way they do. It’s how I learn. If someone can’t explain it to me, I lose interest. I’m a hands-on learner as well. The more I can experience it, the greater my understanding will be.  

When I made it successfully to the age of five, I officially started school. I thought I was a big kid at that point. I could do bigger things like bake in my easy-bake oven with my Mom and drive the little fire truck around myself.

So, one day I thought I would test out how big I was. Dad told Trevor and I to get in the car. He backed the car up a bit and then went to close the garage door. While he was gone, I couldn’t help but look at the pedals and the gears. “Hmm, I wonder how those work”. I hopped over to the driver’s seat and thought I’d give it a try. 

Next thing my Dad knew, Trevor and I were rolling down the driveway at a semi decent pace headed for the busy highway behind us. Fear filled him as he raced down the driveway towards the car, yelling at me to stop. Thankfully our driveway was fairly long and he was able to get to us in time. 

Let’s just say I learned my lesson that day. My “adventures” in a car after that were confined to a vehicle in the garage without the keys nearby. I would pretend that I was on a road trip, driving to Florida or something, while remaining safe and secure. 

However, the adventure and “need for speed” didn’t quite fade away. I applied it to other things like white-water rafting, sea-dooing, snowmobiling, roller coasters, and Xtreme Skyflyers.

Eventually I did get my driver’s license and have been a responsible driver ever since. Though while out one day with my Driver’s Ed instructor, he mentioned that I might want to watch my lead foot.  

Maybe my Dad’s interest for drag and Indy races are deep down within me somewhere. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy seeing all the old muscle cars around town for now. I’ll take my enjoyment pretending I’m still a country-girl while driving in our truck.