I’ll be completely honest with you. I only have a driver’s license that could be
classified as a learner’s permit. This
wouldn’t be so bad if I were still sixteen years old and fumbling my way
through eleventh grade algebra.
Unfortunately, I am twice that age and am currently fumbling my way
through making weekly orders for dairy products.
And, here’s a shocking confession for you. In my whole life (not counting the bumper car
amusement park attraction), I’ve probably spent a grand total of only
twenty-four hours behind the wheel of a car...in the sixteen years and counting
that I’ve been able to drive a car legally.
When I was in high school, it almost became a rite
of passage for teenagers to go to the local DMV to get their license to drive a
car the minute they turned sixteen. Some
of my classmates absolutely salivated over the idea of being able to drive a
car. Myself, I didn’t really have that
strong desire. I really didn’t have any
interest in cars or driving whatsoever, so I never bothered to learn how to
drive a car.
Sigh...but now that I’m in my thirties, I’m
finding it harder and harder to get around.
Fortunately, I live in a small town, so getting around town by foot is
not a problem. It only takes me
three-quarters of an hour to walk from one end of town to the other, which isn’t
bad at all. But I do have a desire of
wanting bigger and better things for myself, and I freely admit that not
knowing how to drive has been a major obstacle for me.
So, in May 2011...just days before my thirtieth
birthday, I buckled down, and I got my G1 (which is kind of like the pre-license
that one gets in Ontario before getting a full license). And, as of 2013, I still have that G1.
It’s come to my attention that whenever I get
behind the wheel of a car, I have complete anxiety behind the wheel, which is
certainly not the best thing to have when attempting to drive a car. Let’s be honest...driving with feelings of
anxiety is equivalent to driving after consuming a twenty-sixer of vodka. Neither scenario is ideal.
Here’s the thing.
I want to learn how to overcome my anxiety so that I can learn to drive
a car so I can improve both my social and professional life. But, I’m also discovering that I don’t have a
very big support system in my life to help me achieve that goal, as the vast
majority of my family and friends will not get in a car with me! And, those who do are the type who will grab
the wheel while I am trying to steer the car.
Yeah, here’s a tip for those of you inclined to do this with me. DON’T DO IT.
Sigh...you know, I wasn’t always this nervous
around cars. When I was a little boy,
some of my most favourite memories involved cars, trucks, minivans, and
buses.
No, I didn’t spend my childhood playing in parking
lots, nor did I attend every car show that came to town. Truth be told, whenever the family decided to
go to the car shows on the boardwalk, I was always bored to tears. But, some of my favourite toys were cars and
trucks...albeit cars and trucks that were a mere fraction of what the actual
size should be.
So, this leads to my next question. How many of you out there played with the toy
cars known as “Hot Wheels”? Because my
little spiel about being afraid to drive has lead into the discussion for
today!
Introduced by Mattel in 1968, Hot Wheels were
unique in that the vast majority of the cars were made to scale. The earliest models were built in a 1:64
scale (later changed to 1:43 as the years passed by), and the very first Hot
Wheels toy that was manufactured was a dark blue Custom Camaro.
At the time of its introduction, “Hot Wheels” cars
only had one major competitor...Matchbox cars (which were eventually bought out by the company that made Hot Wheels in the mid-90s!).
But both brands of cars had their distinct differences. While Matchbox cars were your everyday,
standard cars that you would see on any city street or rural route, Hot Wheels
were considered to be the cars that represented the “After” models in that
television show called “Pimp My Ride”.
Anyway, when Hot Wheels first came out, there were
sixteen different models to choose from – eleven of which were designed by American
car designer Harry Bentley Bradley! Here
is the list of the original 1968 models that were released. Check your collections at home, guys and
gals. They may be a collector’s item!
-
Custom Barracuda
-
Custom Camaro
-
Custom Corvette
-
Custom Eldorado
-
Custom Firebird
-
Custom Fleetside
-
Custom Mustang
-
Custom T-Bird
-
Custom Cougar
-
Custom Volkswagen
-
Deora
-
Ford J-Car
-
Hot Heap
-
Python
-
Silhouette
-
Beatnik Bandit
PERSONAL
CONFESSION:
I certainly wish I had a Beatnik Bandit growing up! Just the name of it alone sounded
awesome! Alas, most of my Hot Wheels
collection dated back to the 1970s, when I inherited a huge collection from my
tomboy of a sister.
The initial sixteen were sold in various toy and
hobby shops and became such a huge success that the following year, Hot Wheels
added several more cars to the line-up.
By 1974, there were at least one hundred and fifty different styles and
makes of Hot Wheels vehicles.
Perhaps what made Hot Wheels even more popular
were the various Hot Wheels playsets that were sold alongside the cars
themselves. Perhaps one of the most
successful Hot Wheels playsets ever manufactured was the 1970 Mongoose &
Snake Drag Race Set, pictured below.
TRIVIA: Would you believe that as late as 1990, the
original playset was selling in some places for as high a price as five hundred
bucks? And, this was before websites
like eBay became popular! Thankfully,
Hot Wheels modified the original design to make it more affordable! Not quite the same, but a nice compromise.
Over the next few decades, Hot Wheels underwent
several modifications. One modification
that I particularly loved growing up was the Hot Wheels that could change
colour depending on the temperature of the water. I owned three of these cars, and I even
remember what colours they changed to!
One car changed from red to yellow, the second car changed from white to
blue, and the last car changed from dark green to lime green.
(The green car was my favourite!)
And, today, Hot Wheels are still very much a
popular toy for both boys and girls, with new models being introduced each
year. And, it’s not just kids that are
getting into the magic of Hot Wheels.
More recently, adults have now jumped on the collecting bandwagon.
In fact, while it is estimated that the average
child will own approximately 41 different Hot Wheels cars in their lifetime (I
had at least a hundred and fifty), the average collector will have a collection
in the thousands!
And, I suppose I should tell you the main reason
why I loved playing with Hot Wheels so much as a kid. It was because I knew that I could flip them,
turn them over, crash them into a wall, and drop them down a flight of stairs
without having to worry about getting hurt.
(Well, unless I forgot to pick them up off of the
staircase and someone in my family stepped on one and took a nasty spill. To my eldest sister, if you’re reading this,
I am terribly sorry about that Hot Wheels slip and fall that you sustained back
in ’85 or ’86.)
And, while I can’t really apply my fun with Hot
Wheels to the fun of driving a real car, I suppose if I think about it, it sort
of has the same principle. I could after
all control the speed, direction, and force that I used when playing with the
toys...there’s no reason why I couldn’t do that with a real car. And, I use pump trucks and carts at my
workplace all the time and haven’t had any major accidents with those things in
years...well, aside from the Christmas 2004 incident where I took out an entire
display of Febreze with an out of control pump truck. At least the floor smelled like pine needles
and cinnamon for several days afterwards.
J
I guess in my case, it is mind over matter. If I put my mind to it, I can get my full
license. I just need a car that I feel
comfortable driving, as well as a person who will not go into hysterics when
teaching me how to drive.
And, if all that fails, I guess I can always go on
the below television series...
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