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Humble Beginnings Lead to Success
How My Humble Beginnings Helped Me Later On
It took three people to teach me to drive. Three brave people. It was 1971 and I’d turned 16 that summer. I was so ready to trade in my blue Schwinn Stingray for something more befitting a mature, sophisticated young lady I could talk of nothing else. Little did I know that humble beginnings lead to success.
My mom didn’t drive, but my uncle offered to teach me in his ’67 Ford Fairlane 500GT. Do you remember that model? Saturday finally arrived and Uncle Tony gave me my first driving lesson around the neighborhood. I was very excited to have him explain some things to me before pulling over to the curb, shutting off the engine. Then, he handed over the keys and we changed places so he could teach me while I was behind the wheel.
I froze for a minute. Then I started the engine and the most horrible sound screeched throughout the neighborhood. It went downhill from there and we agreed to try again in a few days. Poor Uncle Tony gave up on me two weeks later, but let us keep the car in our driveway. Sometimes I’d sit in the driver’s seat for an hour before turning the key. Then I’d go back inside the house and try to forget the experience.
It would be the third person, a man who lived across the street and had given me my first job at Uncle…
