Danielle and her younger sister Debbie, both grew up in South Dakota in Piedmont, a town near Rapid City. Danielle went to high school in the infamous town of Sturgis. Sturgis is better known for its annual motorcycle festival featuring many of the motorcycle groups and some motorcycle gangs. Some displayed their anti-social behavior. Sturgis high school was known as the “Scoopers” allegedly because they could scoop people right off the field. It may have had a more ominous beginning, being as it was a rural livestock area. You decide.
As teenagers, Danielle and Deb lived on a very large ranch consisting of several thousand acres. They had access to pickup trucks, cars, all-terrain vehicles (ATV), and golf carts. They were able to practice their driving skills as they cavorted around their ranch.
One day, Deb asked Danielle if she would give her a driving lesson so she could get her license. She wanted to learn how to drive on the Interstate. Danielle agreed, and was using her 1968 Ford Mustang convertible for the lesson. Danielle said the mustang looked much like any other family car. Right! This family car was candy-apple red with a white racing stripe down the side of the car and a very white interior, and modified exhaust. Certainly this car did not draw much attention.
Deb was driving as they tooled down the Interstate. A four lane highway (two lanes in each direction) with a 75 mile per hour speed limit. As luck would have it they came upon a slower moving Studebaker being driven by an old man in a hat, moving slowly along in the # 1 lane or the lane closest to the center. Deb slowed and asked Danielle if she should pass him on the right. Speaking from experience, Danielle, said it would be best not to pass on the right as sometimes people change lanes suddenly and she didn’t want her car wrecked. She told Deb to be patient and wait for the car to move over.
Deb, always one to follow good advice, immediately swung into the right lane to pass and just as she moved into the right lane,the Studebaker moved into her lane forcing Deb onto the shoulder. Deb immediately sped up and managed to overtake and pass the car on the right shoulder, She was able to get off the shoulder and get back onto the Interstate. Danielle was nervously recovering from the near miss but Deb seemed to be taking it all in stride. As Deb moved back onto the paved road in front of the slower moving car, she calmly asked Danielle, “Is this where I flip him off?”
First and last lesson…Deb passed her driving test with flying colors!
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