Driving Lessons


	Dhahran Diary®
Title: Driving Lessons DD21		Gene Colgan working on a scooter. This backyard activity was one most boys did not experience in Dhahran. A few had scooters, but the bulk of us were on bicycles or on foot. Photo supplied by GC.

Lou Killian's jeep became a primary focus to junior high students and returning summer students. The Killians lived on seventh street and we used to visit because their daughter, Linda Lee, who was popular; we all liked her parents. I think Lou was in charge of Fluor; Mary Killian had been granted special permission to drive and one frequently could spot her zipping around in the jeep with the fabric top flapping. She always wore a sun hat and white gloves.

One boring evening, we decided to push the jeep out of sight and then report that we had seen 'someone' pushing it off. I was shocked when Ms. Killian asked us to wait a minute; she returned shortly and handed me the key! Her directions were to find it and drive it back. We had hidden the jeep in the alley behind their house, so we beat it around to the alley and jumped it for a great joy ride around camp. There were three or four of us and we all took turns learning how to grind through the gears. It was a great evening and one of our early experiences with driving without chaperones. There had been other occurrences, some with comical results.

A few years before, the scouts had a four or five day trip to Ras Al Mishab. We were flown up and spent the day fiddling around the bachelor camp. We were housed in the transit guest house, a long portable with central bath facilities and suites of rooms along a center hallway. The scoutmaster had signed out a car so we had transportation and every so often he would let one of us drive. Pretty soon we were doing all the driving and he would instruct. Mishab had almost zero traffic. It got pretty competitive as to who would drive next and over one of the lunch breaks, several of us, including Ralph Magruder and Mike Furman, ran out early, jumped into what we thought was our pick-up and took off on a joy ride. The compound did not have a perimeter fence so we were soon in the desert following a track that was very primitive. Coming over a rise, we were traveling pretty fast; we encountered a large bump and our inexperience almost tipped the vehicle over. We slowed down and decided to go back to the dining hall portable. Back in the compound, we were told that security was looking for someone who had 'taken' a vehicle; I do not remember how that information came to us but we went back to the chow hall and as we got out of the car, the scoutmaster drove up in our vehicle. We had inadvertently taken the wrong truck! The scoutmaster was a good person but he ragged on us pretty good and that was the end or our driving for that trip.

Dave Taylor, also of seventh street in Dhahran, was a few years older and he was big on driving. He was frequently entrusted with the keys and drove just about everything the scouts could barrow. He was also one of the few who had a motorcycle. He gave several of us lessons, usually on scout trips. ARAMCO had a Kenworth bobtail which we used to take on camping trips and sometimes on beach parties. Dave frequently drove this truck but usually not through the Dhahran main gate. Once we got to our campsite, we would unload the truck and drive it around a little. We also used to attach a plywood sled to the rear of the bobtail by a long length of rope and pull several fools around, something like crack the whip.

Other driving lessons were taken in private vehicles as Dhahran residents began to import cars into camp.One of the pilots had a Morris Minor and he used to let Don Coleman barrow it. We tooled around camp a lot in that convertible. Don was very responsible and used this car to date. Malcolm MacKenzie's dad had a brand new Buick and Norman Gray's dad had a Lancia. I never got two drive either of these, lucky for them.

There were several motorcycles and motor scooters. Dave Taylor had a British Thunderbird. It threw a rod and sat in front of Dave's portable for some time. I rode on the back a few times but was never the driver. Terry Sutherlin had a Lambretta and Norman Gray had a Vespa. One day during a mild drizzle, the two boys managed to collide; no one was injured but it was a scary situation. We had to push Terry's Lambretta home; Norm's had more superficial damage. Bill Gillespie had a Brockhouse motor scooter with a sidecar. Several of us got a chance to blast around Dhahran in it. Later, Norman Gray received a BSA which made Norm the envy of camp. The top honors had to go to Mike Henry and his Doodle Bug. It was well used and Mike could frequently be seen giving rides and zipping here and there. A few kids, including Gene Colgan, had Cushman motor scooters but I cannot recall the details. I do recall that I GAVE Mike Henry all my airplane model materials for a few hours loan of his Doodle Bug. Me? Oh, I had a Schwinn bicycle with the handle bars turned over.

Dhahran Diary®