photo credit: New Drivers via photopin (license)
With Fathers’ Day around the corner, memories have been popping up, like Dad teaching me how to drive in a pre-Disney Orlando. The following is a rehash of a 1990 Orlando Sentinel My Word Column…
Recalling my early driving days brings back memories of a different Central Florida some 25 [now 50!] years ago and a new car that was quite unlike the standard family cars my dad had bought previously.
Circa early 1960’s, my sis and I with the Falcon SW
In 1965, Pontiac came out with a car that resembled a submarine. It was huge and streamlined – in contrast with our compact, boxy station wagon it was replacing – and we had the first one in town. It was quite a surprise when Dad pulled up in the driveway with something so out of character for him at the time. When we drove down the street, we would experience a lot of gawking. We loved it!
Photo courtesy ClassyCars.org
Coincidentally, I was 16 and had to learn to drive this monster. At first, Dad would take me out on the back roads of what used to be the suburbs of Winter Park. Being a new subdivision, there were lots of not-yet-developed paved roads.
After I got a feel for the size of the car and mastered the power steering and brakes, Dad thought it was time to hit the highway. Interstate 4 was as new as our car, and what a thrill it was to cruise such a powerful machine on a deserted (yes, I said deserted) thoroughfare. I’ll never forget the thrill of pulling onto entrance ramps and flooring it with not a soul around to get in my way.
Photo courtesy Orlando Sentinel
Unfortunately, I-4 will never be the same and all we have left of that Pontiac is a picture of it totaled, after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You should’ve seen the other car!
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