Remedial Tractor Driver's Ed

If you had asked me a few weeks ago, "Do you know how to drive a tractor?" I would have said "Yes. Though, not very well."
I would have been WRONG.
If you ask me that TODAY I can say "Yes. Though, not very well." without lying but for some reason I THOUGHT I could before.
In fact, I thought I HAD before.
But going back through my mind through field trips I have ALWAYS managed to get someone else to do the actual driving for the wagon ride, even at our most short-staffed.

I guess THAT'S not true. Our MOST short-staffed is NOW. And NOW is when, realizing I will be driving alone for the first time "in quite awhile" [read: EVER except a few minutes training], I asked Rinny for a refresher. It was then I realized I had no clue in HELL how to drive the tractor and never really had.

Before you mock me, those of you who believe learning to drive a stick is easy, let me assure you, OUR TRACTOR IS NOT YOUR TOYOTA. For reasons I do NOT understand, it has 2 brakes. Neither of which actually STOP in enough of a hurry in case a feral cat or hyper child runs in front of you as fast as SLAMMING ON THE CLUTCH DOES. Does that make sense? NO. But it's still true. It also has 2 gear shift stick thingies. WHY? Why 2? And why does one of them have no labels? Why do I need to feel if it's in Neutral? Why can't it have an N next to it? Is that so hard?

So I practiced and practiced all day. Oh and it's a dumb orange Kubota, so I can't even call up Coats and be all "guess what I drove" and throw her into a farm girl dither. (Farmers make WEIRD and creepy FanGirls.)

AAAANYWHOO....

That was MY day.