Changes I have experienced

      This picture above is a 55 Plymouth 4 door Sedan, the car I learned to drive in. Grandpa's 55 had a flat head six cylinder with a column stick shift and no power steering. In those days many cars did not have power steering. It was a test of strength to turn wheels with the car sitting still. One had to at least have the car moving even at a very slow speed to turn the wheel. Parallel parking was a challenge which those of us had to learn in Missouri to pass the driving test.
      I remember those cars in the early fifties used to have a lot of rust in a short time. The Plymouth had so much rust around the headlights they had to have body work. In those days the body workers used lead to reshape car bodies. It was not a healthy thing, but that is what was available before bondo came on the scene.
      Today I was at the drug store for vitamins for Joyce and I caught myself doing what nearly everyone does these days. I was turning the wheel before moving the car. I usually do not do that, but it was a tight parking lot and I do not seem to be able to back up and see as I used to do. Maybe it is the visibility from the back of my car, or maybe it is my eyes; I do not know, but newer cars these days are difficult to see out the back window. Whatever the reason, I am glad I rarely have to back up these days.