Growing up in the country on a farm, I had driven tractors and trucks ever since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. In fact, I don't recall when I didn't drive. My first "real" car--even though it belonged to the family, was a two-toned Bel Air Chevrolet. The body was a pumpkin orange and the top of the car was a sort-of creamy white. It had originally been manufactured with "Dyna-Flow" according to the chrome label on the back of the car. This was intended to denote an "automatic" transmission.
I remember, however, that it had a manual transmission. The gear shift was on the shaft of the steering wheel. As with most of the other farm vehicles, the headlight dimmer switch was on the floor. Today, headlight dimmer switches are usually incorporated into a lever on the steering column. But in those days, it was operated with the foot. It was located just to the left of the clutch.
I do't recall just how long I had use of this car, but it was used during my freshman year at Utah State University. I lived eighteen miles away from home, but didn't take the occasion to frequent the highway between home and school very often. But before I left for school, I would use it to drive to "town" (Garland or Tremonton) five to seven miles south of where I lived. More often, however, it was the means of transportation to Fielding Store, about four miles to the north. Sometimes I would take my siblings and we would go get a soda, an ice cream, or a five-cent candy bar.
1952 Chevrolet Bel-Air
I enjoyed driving at night more than in the daytime because I could play a game with Doyle, my youngest brother fourteen years my junior, and LeMoyne who was ten years younger than I was. As we drove at night, especially if there was no other traffic on the road, I could play "Please Light, Go On" just as my father had done when we older children were very young. On the dashboard in the same area as the speedometer, a little red light would go on when the lightrs were on bright beam. When the headlights were on dim, the light would not be on. We would play this game often, and it became a real pastime when my little brothers were with me.
Doyle: "Please light, go on." The red light would go on. "Please light, go off." The red light would go off. " Light, go on." Nothing would happen. About this time, LeMoyne would say: "Please light, go on" and the little red light would be lit. If "Please" wasn't used, it was as if the car could tell what the boys were saying and it would respond accordingly. I don't know how long we played that game until the boys finally caught on, but I know it was years!
It was simply fun to make up our own games. Quite different from today. And i never can remember that any of us said, "I'm Bored."