Driver’s Test, By: Jeffery Sklar
It was the summer of 1964, and I could not wait to get my driver's license. this way, I could pick up girls and drive my Pontiac Tempest to Plum Beach at night to watch the Submarine Races while listing to Murry the K, top forty Rock snd Roll songs, like "Blue Moon", on my portable radio. I imagined all this happing as I lay on a blanket, making Love with my hot, beautiful, girlfriend. I could dream, can’t I? Unfortunately, the city did not offer drivers Ed, so I had to travel to the heart of Bedford -Stuyvesant in Brooklyn at Adelphi to take it for a cost of $150, that was big money at that time in my life. I had to take the B36 bus from Nostrand Avenue and Avenue U all the way to Albany and Avenue Z. When I got on the Bus it was mixed. When I got off, I was 1 of 3 white boys and everyone else on the bus were black.
I forgot to mention that this was during the 1964 race riots. The 2 other guys, Les and Ira became my best friends, even to this day. I passed drivers Ed written test and much to my surprise, passed my first road test on Cropsey Avenue, home of the Cropsey maniac from Mexico. Okay, we survived the trip into Bed-Stuy, it was happenstance and luck that we made it out alive, and the rest is history, right? Not so fast, I enjoyed being with the 2 guys I just met, so much so that Les, Ira and I, formed a lifelong relationship, They became, my best friends 58 years ago.
On the last day of drivers Ed, we decided to take the train to Coney Island for a little fun at Nathan’s and drive go carts. We were almost at Stilwell Avenue the last stop on the train, when my friends decided to have some fun and they through me out of the train at West 8th which was the stop before we reach Coney Island. Best friendship. When I finally met up with them, they bought me a couple of dogs and fries. I also ran into the guy who gave me my road test. I asked him if I passed? He wasn't a very friendly guy or maybe he didn't recognize me without my mustache, so he brushed me off. Screw it. We continued to have a blast on all the rides in Coney Island. It turned out to be a most memorable day in my life.
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