Of Front Bumpers and Rear-View Mirrors
By David Owen

I became the proud holder of a California State Drivers permit when I turned 16 years old. My dad had been out of touch for 5 years so my uncle took it upon himself to teach me how to drive. My uncle was an even-tempered man but I’m sure he came close to losing his mind a time or two as the “Passenger” in his own, new, Mercury Marquis. After an hour of thrashing with sudden neck-snapping stops, forward thrusts rivaling escape velocity, and near misses of open car doors, my uncle said, “Park the car, Chief.” Once parked and the engine off, He calmly spoke, “The only way you and I are going to survive this is if you stop doing two things. Stop looking at the front of the car; all the action is ahead of you beyond the front bumper. Raise your line of sight and look forward. The other thing is stop spending so much time in the rear-view mirror and keep looking forward. You do that; you’ll get to where you’re going in one piece.”
Use the G.P.S (God’s Positioning System). Quit covering the brake pedal with your foot. Look forward, scanning for those things ahead – rest stops and pot holes. Move forward! Glance back at the past only to learn from it. Keep that spiritual automatic transmission in “drive”. You do that; you’ll get to where you’re going in one piece.