On 6/28/2014 2:33 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> "It's easy" they said and gave me a few pointers: push this, move
> that, etc. I sat in the driver's seat. My Saudi counterpart, assigned
> to ride shotgun, sat in the passenger seat anxiously clutching the
> marble slab. I started the ignition, did what they told me to do, and
> took off. I barely got a few meters before "muscle memory" took over:
> I stepped on what I*thought* was the clutch and shifted what I
> *thought* was the gear shift. That ended my first and only automatic
> driving experience. My Saudi counter part was installed in the
> driver's seat (even though that was against company policy) and I took
> over as shotgun, happily clutching the marble for the rest of the day.
> -- Bob

The few times I've driven an automatic in recent years I, too, found
myself reaching to shift and my foot went to where the clutch should be.
I'm not comfortable driving an automatic. I can certainly drive one
if I have to but I'd rather not. And let me take it around the block a
couple of times first to get used to it, okay? :-D

Jill