Remember the wonderful scenes in "GREASE" where the teenagers are driving up and down Main Street on Friday night looking to see and be seen. Cars in the fifties were big, comfortable and living-room like.

The coolest cars were the '53 Chevy and, of course, the Corvette Stingray. Today, everyone calls them classics but in the fifties, they were cool. In the fifties, cars were inexpensive so everyone had a car.

Jimmie's parents had a grand, fine Studebaker. For ventilation, the front sides had manual wings which could be pushed out for air. The car ran well and was reliable. The interior was plush and comfortable. One year, the Studebaker took the family to the Dakotas. Jimmie was in awe of the Corn Palace. The entire outside walls were covered in corn of various colors and hues making wonderful murals. Jimmie could never imagine that corn was so colorful.

Then the family drove to an Indian Reservation where Jimmie met a real Indian Chief. Jimmie was afraid of the dignified and somber chief. Jimmie refused to shake his hand.

Then the family drove to the beautiful Black Hills. Jimmie saw real donkeys. But Jimmie was also afraid of the animals. Maybe Jimmie was afraid because he was only four years old. The auto performed wonderfully, and there were no car problems. The roads were in reasonable shape with only a few potholes but the roads were very narrow and possibly dangerous when passing a truck.

When Jimmie became old enough to drive, his dad took him to a gravel country road, showed him the manual gear shift, and put him in the driver's seat. Jimmie wasn't much of a car guy so he struggled with the shifting. In those days, there was no drivers' education in school. Everyone learned from their parents, both good and the bad habits.

Jimmie finally figured out the skills of driving and got his license after he failed the written test twice. He just didn't knnow the rules of the road. But he kept trying and finally succeeded.

Then, every Friday night, Jimmie, who got a '51 Plymouth, would cruise up and down Main Street. Cool Man!