Chapter 21

Dick Wyman took me over to the studio café for a quick lunch. He talked me into trying something called a taco. It was so good I went back for another one.

After that, we went over to the DMV to get my driver’s license. He had me drive his jeep. I had never used a stick on the floor, only the column, but the feel of the clutch was the same so I caught on pretty quick. The hardest part for me was remembering to use the hand signals.

I would remember right and left turns, but really had to think to hold my hand down to show that I was slowing and stopping. It made me appreciate the newer cars with built-in turn signals.

We made it there without any wrecks and Dick didn’t look too nervous. We had been given a name, Mr. Dawson. He turned out to be a cheerful-looking person about fifty years old. He was expecting us. He sat me down at a table and handed me the written test.

“Take this so we know you know the rules of the road.”

It wasn’t a problem as I had studied them in Ohio when Dad was teaching me how to drive. I’m glad I had since Mr. Pearson hadn’t said anything about this.

There was one other thing Mr. Pearson hadn’t bothered to tell me about. After I handed my test in with a score of ninety percent Mr. Dawson showed me in a book where twenty miles per hour was the speed limit in unposted residential zones. After that, he asked.

“What vehicle are you using for your driving test?”

Dick never paused, “He will be using my jeep.”

We went out to the jeep.

Mr. Dawson said, “I haven’t been in one of these for many a year. It doesn’t bring back any fond memories.”

A great way to start a driving test I hadn’t been warned about.

The first thing I did was to adjust the driver’s seat. Dick and I were close enough in height I really didn’t have to do that but wanted to demonstrate that I knew it might have to be done. Then I adjusted the rearview mirror. There were no side mirrors like our car at home.

While exiting to the highway I mentioned, today is the first day I have driven a vehicle without automatic turn signals so I have to really think about using my hands.

Mr. Dawson chuckled, “Try doing it with a BAR in your lap.”

We drove around for close to fifteen minutes with Mr. Dawson giving me turning directions. He even had me out on Highway 101 mixed in speeding traffic. Going fifty miles an hour in an open jeep is a thrill ride. We returned to the DMV where I parallel parked. The parking gods must have been with me that day. It did help that the jeep was shorter and that I really had a good view behind me.

While we had been driving Mr. Dawson asked me why I needed a hardship driver’s license. I explained that my parents were at our home in Ohio while I was in a movie at Warner Brothers. I needed a way to get around as in LA if you couldn’t drive you couldn’t get anywhere.

He laughed at that and told me it was getting more like that every day. There were now so many cars if I looked south to the city in the basin I would see a brown haze. They were calling that smog. It was from car exhaust fumes.

He told me he didn’t know how they could fix it, but in the long term, it would hurt people’s health. As it worsened there were days when you couldn’t see the mountains. We went back inside where he typed out my new driver’s license.

We were done with work for the day and it was only two o’clock. I did comment to Dick that it was a good thing I really knew how to drive. Dick welcomed me to the world of studio support.

“It depends on who your support person is, obviously as a supporting actor and brand new you don’t rate very high.”

“I guess not, but since it came out okay I now know to be careful in my dealings with Mr. Pearson.”

“As they get to know you and appreciate your work you will get better support. Of course, that could take years.”

“All I need to do is survive next seven weeks. To do that I need stuff for my apartment, when are we going shopping?”

“The sooner the better, let’s go pick up Janice and get it done.”

It didn’t take Janice very long to get ready to go shopping. The S.S. Kresge store was at a mall about two miles away. We piled in Janice’s 55 Chevy and rode over.

They had grocery carts to carry your merchandise. I didn’t think we needed one, little did I know? She first asked if I had enough money on me when I told her three hundred dollars.

“That’s a start.”

We filled up a cart with kitchenware. There were dish towels and cloths, pot holders, a starter set of pots and pans, four place settings of tableware, four of silverware, a spatula, and a cutlery set. I thought Janice was going to flip out over some Corning Ware baking dishes. They were white with a blue design on them that she called Cornflower.

She informed me this was the latest in thermal shock dishware. They would last forever. They even dropped resistant. It would take work to destroy these. You could take it from the oven to cold water and it wouldn’t crack. I don’t think I would care to try that but did pick up a set.

Dick and I kidded her that future archeologists would dig up these dishes and our toilets. They would be the only sign of our civilization. Janice didn’t think this was funny. When Dick and I discussed the possible religious significance of cornflowers in blue, she huffed away to get another cart to fill. Dick had to push the full one.