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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, my first car was a 1982 Ford EXP, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share a lesson I learned the summer after high school graduation.
Today’s Fun Fact:
What are the best selling cars of all time? Here’s a list of some notable car models.
- Ford Model T: produced from 1908-1927. Total sales of 16.5 million. First car to achieve 1 million, 5 million, 10 million, and 15 million. By 1914, it was estimated that nine out of every ten cars in the world were Fords.
- Volkswagen Beetle: produced from 1938-2003. Total sales of 21,529,464. First car to reach 20 million units sold.
- Toyota Corolla: produced from 1966-present. Total sales of 40 million make it the highest selling car of all time.
- Australia: Ford Falcon. Produced 1960-present, sold over 3 million.
- United Kingdom: Morris Mini. Produced 1959-2000, sold over 5.5 million.
- United States: Ford F-150. Produced 1948-present, sold over 34 million.
- Chevrolet Impala: Produced 1958-present, 13 million.
- Honda Civic: 1972-present, 16.5 million.
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class: 1993-present, 6.9 million.
Here are some of the highest selling cars in various countries.
Here are some of the highest selling cars by brand.
What I Learned Yesterday
Like many of you, I’m sure, I was not given a car for my 16th birthday. As I’ve mentioned before, I got my first car when I was 18 and only after I’d saved up enough money on my own to pay for it. I don’t remember how much I paid, but I know that the car was a 1982 Ford EXP. That baby had a whopping 70 horsepower and a 4-speed manual transmission. I loved that car.
Do me a favor. Let’s take a trip down memory lane. What was your first car? Where did you buy it? What color was it? What was wrong with it? How did it feel the first time you started it up? Do you remember your first date in that car? What memories to you have with you and your friends in the car? What’s your favorite memory of the car?
There’s something special about your first car, isn’t there? My car wasn’t all that special. It had a sporty look to it, but at 70 horsepower, it wasn’t the least bit sporty in reality. It only had two seats so it my memories in that car are nearly entirely of me and just one other person at a time. There was one time where I stuffed 5 kids from church in there and we drove to Oklahoma City to go bowling or something like that.
I got the car right around the time I graduated high school. That was a crazy summer. I was trying to save up as much cash as possible before I started college in the fall, so I worked two jobs. The first job had me getting up very early so I could pick up a friend, drive about 15 minutes to the next town, and start work at about 7:30. I then got off from that job at 4, and had to go home and report to my second job at 5pm. I worked there until after midnight, went home, and did the whole thing again the next day. Well, nearly every day. My second job was a part-time job so I had an occasional day off, but I wanted all the hours I could get so I was on the schedule nearly every day.
As you can imagine it was exhausting. On at least one occasion I fell asleep while driving home from the first job and woke up as my car began to veer off the road. If you’ve ever done that, you know how frightening that is!
I was 18, was just starting my life as an adult, and even though I was exhausted, I loved the freedom!
The job I worked at during the day was just a summer job. It was an arts program organized by the county. Held each weekday in one of the schools at the county seat, we taught students various arts such as drama, dance, photography, and painting. I helped out in each area, but mostly helped out with photography. The arts have always been important to me, and this was one of the few times I got to participate in them.
The drive from my house to the school was only 11 miles. Of those 11 miles, 9 of them had to driven on Route 66. However, the last 2 miles were not restricted to that road. When I left my house, most days I would stop after just a couple of miles and pick up a high school friend, Nathan. He was about 3 or 4 years younger than me, and was a student at the camp. Nathan would jump in the passenger seat of my Ford EXP and we’d hop back on to Route 66 and head toward town. Like most teenagers, we’d listen to the radio, talk about life, and just enjoy the short drive.
Once we approached the town, I’d often pick a random route. I wasn’t fluent with every road in the town since it wasn’t the one I lived in, but I had a good sense of direction and knew which direction we needed to go. Besides, the town was still very small and it was impossible to get lost.
Some days I’d take the first road that led into town. It would take us by the cemetery, then by the high school, around the back side of town, through a park, and eventually to the elementary school of our destination. Other days I might stay on Route 66 as it turned into the main drag into town, but then duck off to a side street and enjoy the architecture of the homes. On other occasions, if we were running a bit early, I might pass up all the quickest routes, drive beyond the roads that would take me our destination, and then circle back around from the other end of town.
After taking a different route nearly every day for quite some time, Nathan finally asked me why I did that. The answer I gave him is a lesson that I think my 40 year old self needs to learn from my 18 year old self.
Here’s what I learned:
If you do the math, I worked 15+ hours each day that summer. It’s no wonder I was so tired that I fell asleep while driving. Looking back at it now, I’m surprised I didn’t do it more often. But the truth is, I never thought about the work. I only thought about the moment. I enjoyed the car ride with my friend. I enjoyed the time with the kids. I enjoyed my time flipping burgers each night. I enjoyed sleep. I didn’t have any trouble sleeping as you can imagine.
When Nathan asked me why I took a different route each day, I told him that I didn’t want to get in a rut. I wanted to take time to see other things than just the ones I see every day. I wanted to experience new things. I also told him that there was more than one way to get to our destination, so why take the same way each day.
Isn’t that brilliant? I don’t think I fully appreciated how wise that was. In fact, I know I didn’t. Now as a 40 year old, I can’t tell you the last time I took a different way home. I don’t know when I just enjoyed a drive and thought about the freedom of driving. I don’t know when I last basked in the beauty of architecture or even took a moment to enjoy the work that I’ve been given the chance to do. I’m so busy being busy, that I only ever think about how busy I am.
Can I say that again?
I’m so busy being busy, that I only ever think about how busy I am.
Is it just me? No. I know it’s not just me. I hope it’s not you too, but I know I’m not alone. So here’s the deal. This week on at least one occasion, I am going to hop in my car, roll the windows down and go for a drive. On top of that, I’m going to take the long way home from an errand and look for something new. I’m going to enjoy the work that I’ve been given and recognize it for the gift that it is. And I challenge you to do the same. In fact, call or write in to the Friday Forum and tell me about your adventure.
It’s been said that life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans. I think it’s also true that life is what happens when we’re busy thinking about other things. Life is what happens all around us every day. Let’s take a deep breath, open our eyes, venture off the beaten path, and enjoy it.
I’m Darrell Darnell, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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