[Tommy]

Forgive me for barging in on a local conversation, but I did once live in Arizona. This thread reminds me that I will never forgive the kind man who taught me to drive because he taught me in a Peugeot with a four speed manual on the column. Later, I found myself driving a 1952 Chevy pickup. While sitting at the only traffic light in town, I was daydreaming and didn't notice it turn green. When I did see the light, I quickly shifted into first (at least it would have been first in the damn Peugeot), hit the gas, popped the clutch and promptly backed up about twenty feet with one tire squeeking. Fortunately there was no one behind me. Red faced, I eased it into the real first gear and pulled away hoping no one saw my gaff. That was almost fifty years ago and I can still feel the embarrassment.