50 FEET---A GIANT LEAP FOR ONE MANKIND

Yesterday was one of those days that was pretty cool. It’s not every day that you get to see your child through a rite of passage, but yesterday was special. We were across from the airport in Jacksonville waiting to pick Mom up when my son asked me that four word sentence that parents know is coming…..”Dad, Can I drive?”

Now, it wasn’t the first time that he had been behind the wheel. Father # 1 saw him during that moment, but I’ve got to say it was pretty cool. Don’t get the idea that I turned him loose on I-95 during rush hour. It was a thinly packed parking lot off to the side of a motel. My first inclination was to say “No.” After all, he is twelve years old. But, once upon a time, I remember a certain person taking their child for his first drive down Goatshed Road in Burns, TN. So, I figured why not? It wasn’t the longest ride, because I didn’t know how he would do….but some 50 feet later, I was still breathing, and he was ready to drive to Daytona….Well, maybe St. Augustine. I have a feeling that more of these days are going to come up over the next few years, and I’m sure that I will have the same temper flare-ups (“He doesn’t remember anything I tell him,”) from time to time. But he got to be in the drivers’ seat.

I have to say, as a Dad that isn’t going to be confused with trendy or cool----Play Station Games, and most toys such as Super Nerf Militia are too fast paced for me. (OK, I'm not even sure there is such a game, but I digress.) What happened to Atari? If it’s just me in the car, you’ll hear anything from J-Lo to Roy Acuff…..but when it all comes down to it, give me a station with a healthy balanced diet of Twitty and Owens, and I’m a happy camper. Hipness is something that I know little about, admittedly, but for about five to ten minutes yesterday, I was “Cool Dad.” It didn’t last. This afternoon, he was grounded from going to a friends’ house, so my batting average is down a few points, but it should rebound once again. I’ve got confidence. I just hope the daughter waits a while for her time behind the wheel. Time is going by………a little too fast......