The Day Grand Ma Backed Out Her Driveway

You may remember Grandma didn't learn to drive until she was over 50 years young. The driveway at 2914 Belgrave Avenue was two ribbons of concrete almost the length of the lot. A real challenge to navigate. There was only a one car garage which posed it's own hazard for the large Ford Grandma drove.

One afternoon my phone rang and Mother was very upset. She needed me right away. I was not able to make out what the problem was, but knew I needed to get to her post haste. We were living in Pico Rivera at the time, which was quite a drive to Huntington Park. I got there as quickly as I could and was shocked to see the Ford across the street, on the sidewalk and stuck
in the chain link fence of the High School Parking Lot. Mother was still shaking, the Police were there taking information on what had happened.

It appeared Mom had been backing out of her drive way, fortunately no cars or pedestrians were in the area at the time. She must have stepped on the gas instead of the brake and zoomed across the street, jumped the curb, went between two very large trees and was stopped by the 8 foot fence of the School. I am sure the sudden stop was enough to jolt her pretty sharply.

She had no idea what had caused her to shoot across the street at such a speed, but when the car was at a stop it was apparent a miracle had taken place. The space between the trees was just enough for the car to pass between without making contact of any kind. The curb was unusually a high one. I have no idea what it must have felt like to have hit it and then jumped the car into the air propelling it between those trees.

When the car was moved it had left an indelible mark on the curb and sidewalk. The
fence was pushed back in a large area, but no posts had been envolved. If it had been planned it could not have been more perfectly placed. The car had no physical damage. I don't recall if the back suspension had been effected in any way. Mom drove that same car until she gave up driving at age 82. There were a great many scraps on it from the garage doors however.

Though it wasn't funny at the time, we have had many a laugh over it since. What a sight that must have been. A little old gray haired lady flying out of that long driveway at break neck speed, jumping that curb, clearing those two trees and coming to an abrupt stop by an 8 foot fence. We called her Barney Oldfield for awhile. The name may not mean much to the younger generation but it called up the image of one of the first fast drivers of automobiles. When it was mentioned it brought to mind "recklessness". You could certainly classify this as such an event.

Written this 11 day of May 2009
by: Eileen Rosenberg