Fortune favors the bold
I never heard Sheila repeat one of my favorite quotes - but she often lived it.
"Fortune favors the bold."
I recall one of the first times it shocked me. I was 14. We were in St. Albans, VT, a metropolis just south of the little village of Highgate Springs where we spent the summer. Going to St. Albans was always a big deal. They had a mall, and eventually, a McDonalds. There also was one of the coolest outdoor movie theaters I've ever seen.
We were walking down the street, and she spys the Department of Motor Vehicles. "Lets go in".
Before I could ask why she was bounding up the steps so I followed her in. She marched up to the service desk and, with confidence, says, "How old do you have to be to get a Learner's Permit?" The lady at the desk kindly responded that 14 was the minimum age for a permit in Vermont. Vermont apparently let kids drive a lot earlier than NJ, our legal residence. Something about kids needing to be able to help on the farms. The minimum "learners permit" age in NJ was 16.
Sheila didn't miss a beat..."My son would like to take the test." And she quietly sneaked the pamphlet with all the driving rules behind her back and wiggled it, indicating that I should quickly look through the rules.
I couldn't believe it. I had 30 seconds to absorb all the information necessary to pass the Vermont Learner's Permit test? And what about the fact that we really didn't live in Vermont. We just had a summer cabin. My mind was screaming, "This is not going to work! Stop!!"
The nice lady led me back to a cubicle and explained that the test had 20 questions and I needed to get 16 right. My heart was roaring along at about 150 beats, a huge bolus of adrenalin coursing through my system.
Luckily most of the questions were pretty easy or obvious. I recall I got tripped up when they asked how much space you need to leave when traveling behind a tractor.
Luckily, I got 16 right, and passed with the lowest acceptable score. I marched out of the building holding my first Learner's Permit. And my summer of driving began on that trip home from St. Albans.
"Fortune favors the bold" had worked its magic.
