This story was written for Sunday Photo Fiction–May 1st, 2016. Each week the host, Al Forbes, provides a picture prompt. The challenge for each member of the group is to write an original story or poem with no more than 200 words and inspired by the prompt.
To read the other stories written by group members, just click on the little blue frog in the blue box.
The link to the other stories this week is as follows:
https://sundayphotofictioner.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/sunday-photo-fiction-may-1st-2016/
Genre: Humor Fiction
Word Count: 5+200=205 Words
THE BRAVE AND THE DEDICATED by P.S. Joshi
Every year there were brave, dedicated people given the task to put their lives in danger for the greater good and the welfare of the nation’s children. They didn’t ask for the job, it was assigned to them. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor ice, nor snow could be an excuse for stopping.
They weren’t awarded great honors for doing it. There were no laurel wreaths or parades. No slave stood beside them in a chariot saying, “Remember, you are only a man.”
These were the driving instructors in the local high schools.
Ledbetter’s Lake High School was rural. Some of the youngsters had been driving tractors. They took the course for an ‘easy A’. “Yeah,” Rudy Hefflefinger said with a grin, “that’ll be my only ‘A’ in high school. It should raise my ‘D’ average a little.”
Lily Crickle was not optimistic. As she told her best friend, Bettsie, “I’m scared half to death. I’ve never been behind a wheel in my life. Dad said I had to learn to drive so I could go to Business College in the city when I graduate. My whole future depends on it.”
It was a snowy and icy winter in northeastern Ohio.
Musings on Life & Experience 
We don’t have Driver Ed at school here in Oz, but when I left school, my driving instructor insisted I learnt to drive a manual car instead of one with automatic transmission. My driving test was on a Friday morning, in a thunderstorm in peak hour traffic. Oh boy, do I know how Lily Crickle feels 😮
LikeLike
Thanks, Lyn. I sadly read that many schools in the U.S. have dropped Driver’s Ed. due to cutbacks. Lily Crickle was me. I was scared to death. The Driver’s Ed car was an automatic. My dad had a stick shift and taught me to drive it on empty country roads. Luckily, my uncle permitted me to drive his automatic for the state driver’s test. I didn’t do well, but passed, in the grade for the course, but passed the state test the first time. I drove a lot in the years after that. We learned on snow and ice, common during northeastern Ohio winters. 🙂 — Suzanne
LikeLike
Those heroic drivers ed. teachers. Nice. A fun post, Suzanne, with a couple little twists. I hope everyone stays on the road!
LikeLike
Thanks, Diana. Sadly, I read that many Driver’s Ed programs have been discontinued because of cutbacks in schools. When I took it, one of the groups pulled away without the teacher one day. It was the talk of the school, poor man. They said he ran behind, yelling. They invited him as a guest teacher at one of the class reunions. 😀 — Suzanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bet there were lots of dinnertime stories, maybe not funny at the time, but looking back can put a different light on them. 😀
LikeLike
Brought back my memories of driver’s ed. What a time.
LikeLike
Thanks, John. I remember I was scared to death at first. Later on, I did a lot of driving. I hope some of your memories I brought back were happy ones. 🙂 — Suzanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. I could not wait to drive.
LikeLike
I love the idea of driving instructors being the nation’s unsung heroes :-). We don’t have any such class here, you just go off and find (and pay) a driving instructor.
LikeLike
I read sadly that recently a lot of the classes in the U.S. high schools have been discontinued because of cut backs. Some use a machine part of the sessions and go on the rode for part. I guess some schools don’t have it at all. I don’t know what kids do who can’t afford private lessons. I’ll bet relatives take them on a road with little traffic and teach them. That’s the way it was years ago. My dad taught me to drive with a stick shift while I learned on an automatic in school. For the state test, my uncle left me drive his automatic. —- Suzanne
LikeLike
Ha! That would be my luck! My dad took me to the high school parking lot, made me drive around it for a while. Then said “Okay, you’ve got to get us home.” LOL. Hugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Teagan. That’s kind of “tough love” isn’t it. Actually, my dad took me out on a country road with no cars around and taught me how to drive a stick shift. My uncle left me drive his automatic for the state test. I never had to drive a standard shift as my dad switched to automatic later and I had my own car, an automatic. 😀 — Suzanne
LikeLike
I love the twist on that. Great story 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Al. I’m so happy you liked the story, especially the twist. 😀 — Suzanne
LikeLike