Go Forward Young Man

Young Mr. Johnson handed me his Temporary Instruction Permit as we were beginning the paperwork for his driver's test. Noticing that his permit requires him to be wearing corrective lens and he has come without I ask if he has his glasses with him. Johnson smirks and answers, “I sure does” and pulls them out of his coat pocket.

After the paperwork and vehicle inspection is completed I give the instructions for the parking lot portion of the test. The first exercise is to drive forward and get the vehicle as close as possible to a line between two cones that is 40 feet ahead of us. Showing Mr. Johnson the diagram and moving my finger forward on it from our current location to the illustration showing a car stopped before a solid line extending between two cones I read to him: “Drive forward and stop with the front bumper of your vehicle close to, not on or over the solid line between the cones ahead . . . “ Then I ask him if he has any questions.

“So you want me to go in reverse?”

Now it's my time to smirk. “No. Do you see that solid line ahead of us sitting between those two cones?”

“A huh.”

“You need to drive forward to get there.”

“Oh, OK.”

He passes the parking lot portion and we end up on the road. To help him relax a bit I ask Johnson if he is going to school or if he is currently working. “I go to CC” says Johnson. I ask what classes he enjoys most. “I be trying to keep up width all my courses so dat I not git behind any and I be doing pretty good with deem so far.”

“Is there anything that you are studying for?”

Johnson replies, “I want to be a lawyer.”

“Oh really, why may I ask?”

“Well, I um, um, um, you know, um, yeah, um, I want to work for the State.” His budding lawyer skills have left me pretty confused so I drop any further conversation.

We are nearing the end of the test and Johnson is 1 point shy of failing but it looks like clear sailing until he runs a red light just before our parking lot. I tell him when we get back that it was very, very close and that he would have passed if he didn't run that red light. “Oh man! You mean I almost passed? Wow!”

Several days later Johnson comes back. He has taken to heart all my advice from the end of his first test, does very well and passes. After I inform him of this he tells me, “You know I went home after dat test and cried like a baby. My momma says, 'Why you crying boy?' and I says 'Cause I almost passed but ran a red light.' “

I hope Johnson keeps going forward on his studies. We sure does need lawyers with a heart.