[slodave]

I had a few early, aborted teen attempts. I was a master with reverse, 1st, not so much. The make it or break it moment, was when my dad and I went on a Summer father/son weekend trip to Mammoth Mountain in my mid teens. He rented a Chevy S-10 manual 4x4. He drove it towards the end of town and let me have a go through a quite residential street. Then we headed up a mountain with switchbacks. That was the real learning experience! There were turns that needed good clutch work and at certain crucial points in the switchback turns, if you did not get it right and get it rolling in 1st, you'd roll backwards off the road and tumble down the mountain.