Being unable to drive a stick shift car in old-time, and modern Phoenix

Every once in a while I see someone say, either in a humorous way, or in a ranting way, that they're surprised that people don't know how to drive a stick-shift car. That is, a car that doesn't have an automatic transmission, that requires you to know how to use a clutch and a gear lever. And since I'm a time-traveler, I decided to compare it to some other things that many people don't know, like hitching a team of horses to a wagon.

In my lifetime, which has now spanned a little over 65 years, driving a car, even a stick shift, has pretty much been expected of everyone. I'm sure that there was a time, back when cars were a brand-new thing (even before my time!) when seeing someone control one of those machines was amazing, and even thrilling. And that would have been about the time when the most basic thing that a young man could know would be how to hitch up a team of horses, or put on a saddle.

As I time-travel into the future, I see the ability to even drive become less and less important, the same way that elevators once became automatic, and didn't need human operators anymore. No, it won't happen overnight, and if you're so old that the future frightens you, calm down, you may not live to see it. And there were a LOT of people who refused to use the automatic elevators (they used the stairs), and wouldn't dream of getting into an automobile (there were still plenty of horses around major cities through the 1920s).

Speaking for myself, I'm OK with not knowing how to do everything. When I've flown to Burbank, I've never had the slightest idea how to operate the plane, what the different colored markings on the tarmac mean, what the flashing lights are supposed to be telling me. Heck, I wouldn't even know where to put the fuel in. I don't suppose the filler cap would be hidden behind the license plate? Do planes have license plates?

Please don't get me wrong, I don't disrespect other people's expertise. I've been known to stand on my driveway in admiration of the garbage truck drivers who expertly wind their way through my suburban neighborhood, and use lifts on the garbage cans. I give them a "thumbs up" when I can. I know that they wouldn't expect an ordinary citizen to do what they do, and they'd never scoff at me for my lack of the expertise doing that. At least I hope so!

I learned to drive a stick shift car in 1976, in my MG Midget. My best friend had a "three on the tree", and my high school coach had a "muscle car" with something like a Hurst shifter. Since I had a high-revving car, I learned to stay on the power curve before I upshifted, and always chose to stay in gear whenever I slowed down for a stop. It gave the distinctive "pop-pop-pop" that you often hear on motorcycles. I learned not to ride the clutch, and also how to not roll backwards when you were stopped at a light on a hill. I could could go on and on, and I probably will, but if you asked me how to hitch a team to a wagon, I'd just go "huh?"

Thank you for the encouragement! If you want to see daily pics of my adventures on my recumbent trike in suburban Phoenix (just for fun, of course!) you can follow me on buymeacoffee.com/bradhall, and you can buy me a coffee if you'd like to!