Behind the Wheel?

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So the great debate has begun again. Jake is 16 and wants to get his learners permit.

Neither one of us wants to teach him how to drive.

And it's not that he eventually won't have to get behind the wheel. He has to, but there is so much that goes into it. He's the kid you watched grow and do some really dumb things on the way.

They all walk into walls and such.

They all show unlimited bouts of poor hand and eye coordination.

It's natural to doubt their abilities.

Then there are the things you read. How many accidents, end-of-young-life accidents have you seen in recent days?

Kids driving into trees.

Kids drowning in a pond or the lake.

A kid fell into the Whirlpool at Niagara Falls the other day.

Way too young. Way too sad.

Yet Jake found an ally with his Uncle Mike at a party on Saturday.

"It's just criminal that this young man isn't already behind the wheel," Mike started. "When I was his age I was a courier for the mob. I'd already been driving for five years."

Jake was eating it all up.

Mike screamed for Kathy.

"What's it gonna' take to get this kid behind the wheel of something nice? He deserves a brand new car. He can drive your asses home from a party when you get pissed up. He can run to the store, drive to school, hell, drive across the country if he needs to. You two are basically shot. Who's gonna' run you to the hospital when your hips finally break? Jake! That's who!"

Of course I want to see my boys grow to be responsible adults who are capable of driving safely for the rest of their lives, but I also remember my incompetence at such a young age.

"I didn't get my license until I was 19," I said. "Renaldo was driving me all around town and I was always with him. There was no sense in both of us driving."

"We all know you were a tad slow on the uptick," Mike said. "Don't hold that against your kid."

Jake laughed hard at this.

"You gotta' give some thought to your breaking the hip," Mike said. "You don't wanna' be writhing around on the floor wishing you'd taught him how to drive."

How did life go so fast?

I watched the nieces and nephews chasing their kids with filled-diapers all around the party. It didn't take much to imagine those crazy days.

"You are gonna' need me to take care of you someday," Jake said. "And it's just around the corner."

Indeed.

Comments

deafjeff said…
Can't you just get him Grand Theft Auto VIII or something?
08 July, 2013
Anonymous said…
Don't be afraid to let him grow up because you are afraid to grow old! He is a smart and good-hearted boy, who needs the confidence of one parent in him. Besides, his Uncle Chuck promised him that he would teach him!
12 July, 2013
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