Charlie's Driving Lesson

Mr. Stamp taught me how to drive

At first my mom was going to teach me
But we only made it a few blocks
Before I accidentally ran a stoplight
And she made me pull over
So she could vomit

Mr. Stamp was driving by
When he saw my mother
Puking out on the side of the road

He stopped his car
Got out
Patted my mother on the back
Held her hair
And offered to take me driving

We met in a parking lot
Out by the high school
At eight am on a Saturday morning

I guess Mr. Stamp figured
There was only so much damage I could do
In an empty parking lot

The trouble was
I had a strange way of dealing with anxiety
When I was a teenager

I would close my eyes
And start to fall asleep

So as soon as Mr. Stamp asked me to put the car in drive
My eyes started to close
And my head was headed for the steering wheel

When I woke up
The car was on the football field
And Mr. Stamp was the color of Paco the Polar Bear
Our school mascot

'Let's go get ice cream,' he said, 'I'll drive'

We went to this diner in town
And I waited for Mr. Stamp to explain to me
How if I kept practicing
I'd get better at driving
And eventually it would feel naturally to me

Instead he said, 'I suggest you move to a city with mass transit'

That's how I wound up in New York
And I've been pretty happy here

Mr. Stamp was always good
At looking at someone
And knowing what they were capable of

He looked at me and realized
I'd never be a good driver
And rather than try to change that
He just gave me some practical advice


I know it isn't your typical inspirational story
About a teacher changing a student's life
But it's the truth
And telling the truth was what Mr. Stamp
Was all about

Now I'm a sleep therapist
Working in Manhattan
And when I need to get somewhere

I take a taxi