It was a warm and kind of muggy Monday afternoon, it had been cloudy most of the day but luckily we had not received any rain. It was 5:00 pm, I had completed my tasks for the day and had wondered out to the Ford’s ole rocker for a rest, and an adult beverage. Tres and I was resting when my spouse of half a century ventured from the Homestead, she sat in the alternant rocker.
As we sat there conversing about the daily activities, a neighbor girl came down the street on her bike. She was in the standing position and riding with no hands. Seeing her riding with no hands brought back some old memories.
The neighborhood we lived in was close to the grade school we all went to, May Green Elementary. On weekends and during the summer months many of us kids would hang out on the playground of the school and at the old Fort “D”. Yes it was at one time a real fort and it was positioned on high ground where they could observe the Mississippi river. Ole Fort D has nothing to do with this memory, I was just setting the scene for you.
This ole memory is about bikes and kids riding bikes. A few of us kids had names for our bikes, my old bike was named Elvis. The street in front of the School went about two blocks south and we would arrive at Hildermans Hill. The hill itself was a little less than a block long and at the bottom of the hill there was a small grocery store, Hildermans Grocery. The owner was Vernon Hilderman, he was married to my mother’s sister Ora, which made Vernon my uncle. No, I never got anything free at the store.
Some of us boys would ride to the top of Hildermans Hill, and then coast down this hill with our hands off the handlebars. A good rider could make it to the bottom without holding on to the handle bars. I, of course, was a good rider. My bike was old and pretty much worn out. When I would get going down Hildermans hill I would release the handle bars and that is when Elvis would kick in. My bike would shake, rattle, and roll! And that is why I named the bike Elvis. The real Elvis, could also shake, rattle, and roll!
Now let us change subjects.
As many of you know, the Fords have a Chevy pickup truck. The other day as we were on the way to have brunch, I noticed that my turn signals seemed to be working improperly. In the Fords ole Chevy, if you are going to change lanes you can partly engage the turn signal lever, after checking for traffic, and the turn signals will flash 3 times. I noticed that the Ford’s ole Chevys turn signals were flashing 6 times, not three!
Naturally, I assumed the computer had a problem.
As I continued driving and diagnosing the situation, I remembered I had pushed a button on the dash. This pickup truck has a bunch of buttons, so occasionally, I will push one of them just to see what happens.
Earlier I had pushed the trailer towing button. This button supposedly changes the way the transmission functions due to carrying or towing heavy loads.
I decided to disengage the trailer towing button, and the turn signals then flashed 3 times when slightly engaging the turn signal. Three flashes when not towing, six flashes when towing. Who knew?
What? You want to know what? Come on, don’t you have something interesting to do? This person, wants to know why I would count the flashes my turn signal makes!
As a careful and alert senior driver, it is my responsibility to be aware of everything that is occurring in my vehicle! I always count the three flashes when changing lanes! I want to be sure the person behind me knows what I and doing, and I don’t want the turn signals to continue flashing as I proceed down the road! Do you get it now!
New subject: Yesterday my schedule was messed up, which cause me, I mean allowed me to do more work. I usually pick the Alex up from school each afternoon, but yesterday afternoon I received a call saying I did not need to get the Alex. That allowed me extra time here at the Ford’s Homestead to paint. I don’t enjoy painting, but as I have wisely stated in the past,
“I may not enjoy doing certain things, but I am glad that I can still do those things”!
Always be aware of all that happens in your vehicle!
Senior vehicle awareness coach; Don Ford
