STICK AND STAY

(Or the Highs and Lows of Driving A Manual Vehicle)

While weaving through DMV traffic yesterday evening, I realized I absolutely love that I know to drive a manual vehicle. It’s the little things like this that make life seem a bit more, “grand.” Not a superior skill, but one nonetheless, that I am proud of.  

And although I am glad I acquired said skill before I turned 21, there are both ups and downs to driving a stick…

PROS

1. Very few requests from friends to borrow the whip.  Keeping it real—this is, in fact, the official Number One reason people buy sticks instead of automatics. We just never say it out loud.

2. For whatever reason, manual vehicles are cheaper than automatics (standards). Don’t hate the game…

3. In the right setting, such as City Traffic with stop lights and stop signs, you can put tailgaters in check. Simply wait for an uphill slant. When taking off, “accidentally,” roll back, get close enough to touch said tailgater, but avoid a collision (barely).  And yes, I do that to everyone, including cops. My feeling is, if we are not dating, stay off my ass!

4. A woman who can stick, is considered, well, versatile…so I’ve heard!

Seriously, though, I might have been on the medium bus, as it were (that means I am a tad slow and thick in the head), and I cannot dance as well as Janet Jackson (damn her!). But I can get behind the wheel of any manual vehicle and shift gears gracefully and expeditiously.

5. Peeling away from an ex-boyfriend’s place post-argument looks and sounds so much cooler in a manual vehicle.

CONS

1. Maneuvering through chronic Stop & Go Traffic cities like, L.A., DC, NYC, Atlanta and some parts of Europe (including Germany) can drive one batty.

2. Driving a stick and trying to eat—not a good look. Stuff like ice cream, even a cone, is no fun at all.

3. Um, it is not a good look when one has an, “off moment,” and grinds gears because of hasty shifting—so I’ve heard…

4. er’ once in a while, especially when first learning to drive a stick, one will happen upon a hill that tests true balance and the ability to shift without panicking.

5. If one gets hurt or incapacitated and needs someone to drive your vehicle for you, the choices are infinitely limited…

6. One of these days, I will be too old to drive, let alone, “stick…”