Those of you who have been following my stories probably know by now the problem I have with automobiles. You know that I am incapable of putting gas in a car and that I've had some strange experiences with cars in general. I think my problem is that I don't enjoy driving. I know people (like one of my own daughters) who just love to drive and I can't imagine why. I am a good driver, but the reason I am good is because I'm extremely careful and I've only had one speeding ticket in my life. I usually drive at whatever the sign says the speed is because I also know that driving too slow can cause accidents. I am constantly looking from left to right and checking the rear-view mirrors, and  I always keep both hands on the steering wheel. Sometimes I will notice that I am gripping the wheel so tight that my hand literally hurts and I have to tell myself to ease up. In other words, I find driving stressful. Consequently, I've only trailed something twice in my life. The second time was taking a daughter to college with a small rental trailer full of furniture for her apartment. That time it went pretty well, but the first time was a nightmare.  

     I was in my late twenties at the time and only had the first two of my five daughters. It was a Friday morning and my husband was running late to get to his dental practice. He had planned to take our 18 ft. fishing boat that weekend with a buddy of his to Key Largo. There was a minor problem with the boat that needed to be fixed, so he asked me to trail it to a repair shop that was only about a mile away. Since I had never trailed anything, I was reluctant to do it. He explained that he didn't have time and since the shop was so close, I only had to make  three right hand turns and he would pick it up when he got home. I replied that I still had to drive the girls to the nearby church where they were enrolled in Nursery School. He said that I should do that first and he would show me how to attach the boat trailer to the hitch and I could do it myself when I got back.  I finally agreed and he proceeded to roll the trailer out of our garage and demonstrated how I was to attach it to the hitch on the station wagon. It didn't seem to be difficult, so off he went to work. 

     I then drove the girls to school and when I returned I proceeded to attach the trailer to the hitch as I had been shown. I successfully made the first of my three right hand turns out of the driveway and onto the road. I only had to go about six blocks before I would make my second turn and I was feeling pretty confident and proud of myself. There are no real hills in Coral Gables where we lived at the time, but a few of the roads do have a fairly steep slope and the road where I was to make my next turn was one of them. I was pleased that I had no problem making the turn and glanced in the rear view mirror to see if there was a car behind me that might want to pass, but what I saw really scared me. The boat had come off the hitch and was coasting down the slope at a fast pace! It was about to rear-end my car, so I pulled off onto the grass on my right side where there was no curb. (Thank goodness!) The boat then passed me and went several feet ahead before it veered to the right and stopped when the trailer hit a large tree. I got out of the car and was relieved to see that there was no damage. A plumbing truck pulled along side me. Apparently the driver had seen the whole thing, and laughing he said, "You look like you could use some help." I've never been so happy to see someone in my whole life! I thought about the Biblical quote...something about being kind to strangers because they may be angels unaware, and this man was definitely an 'angel'. I offered to pay him, but he refused  and proceeded to attach the trailer securely to the hitch. He asked me if I was okay to finish my errand and I assured him that I was. I thanked him profusely and drove on to the repair shop.

     Apparently I had not pushed down hard enough on the gadget that secured the trailer to the hitch. In retrospect, it was pretty funny, but I've never trailed anything again except when I took my daughter to college some 30 years later,...and actually, she did most of the driving!