My first experience with a stick-shift was actually my first electrical job. Boss asks me: "Can you go down to the supply house and pick up that load of ridgid?" He points at the 45' long stake-body truck. Seeing as how I'd only learned to drive the previous summer, and learned in an automatic Honda Civic, this was more of a challenge than a question.

Not one to back down, I say "Hell yes." and hop in the cab. The next twenty minutes are sheer terror; screaming down the highway trying like the devil to get out of second gear and it sounds like the trani. is grinding itself to pieces.

I get to the supply house sweating bullets and only get a brief respite before I have to back out of the parking lot (you've never seen anyone back up more slowly than I did) and wheel the truck back to the job.

Amazingly, I didn't kill anyone or anything in the process.

Now, I actually prefer manual transmissions. Mainly because my current car is an automatic, and it sounds like the transmission is dying, and I'll never be able to repair an automatic transmission! [Linked Image] If I had a manual, I'd probably only be replacing the clutch.

-John