Hatcher and His Mustache....

Clock Tower Newmarket England....(pictures from Google Earth)

click on picture to see the 5 lanes coming into the tower..

.........I lived in Newmarket England from 1964 till 1967... I was 18 years old and had not been taught to drive...... soooooo not having an American drivers license I had to take 32 hours of English driving school..... That is where I met Hatcher... He must have been 50 or so and had this huge handle bar mustache......... He had a little box of wax that he carried and he was all the time twirling that mustache..... Now this is not about this mustache but about a lesson that he taught me well and to this day I have never forgotten... I will make this story short....

...........After about 28 or 29 hours of driving I was nearing the time to take my driving test. I did real good in every aspect of driving except I did have a bit of trouble with the clutch and gas..... When slowing down trying to balance the two and keep the car moving but not letting it stall.......

..........This particular Saturday morning when he pulled up to the curb I was expecting him to say head north....... Out of town........ he did not......... Downtown he said...... I can tell you right now that struck fear in my heart that caused my pulse to go up and I began to sweat! Downtown was not so bad, I had gone downtown before.... Saturday was not so bad as I had gone downtown on Saturday before........ But downtown this Saturday caused me to become very agitated and he knew it........

........... It was race day in Newmarket England! It was Saturday race day in Newmarket England....... Oh my gosh......... Hundreds and hundreds of people came to Newmarket to race day............ He just looked at me and smiled and curled his mustache and handed me the keys........ I think he was the devil...........

......... Now being the clever little lady that I was and have always been, said to him "turn before the clock tower? His response to me was no........... Ok now this was serious because the clock tower was my greatest obstacle with that silly clutch and gas.......

...........Downtown we headed and the traffic was thick and the clock tower (roundabout they call it ) was bumper to bumper....... It had 5 lanes coming into the tower and you had to merge into the traffic and circle the tower to the road you were wanting to exit........ Sooooo here we go..

.....Closer to the tower I got the more nervous I became and I just knew this was not going to be pretty... Sure enough when time for me to merge I did not balance the clutch and gas and half way into the center the car died.......... There we were.......... and the harder I tried to start the car the more I caused it to die.......

......... He just sat there with his wax and his mustache and to him the world was beautiful......... After what seemed to me to be an eternity he asked for the keys.......... The Keys? Was he going to make me get out and walk around this car? How embarrassing....... Was he going to rescue me from this mess?.......... Nope! ....Now you understand that if one lane of traffic is stalled then all 5 will eventually be backed up.........That is what happened........ The horns and the people yelling out their windows ..... the hand signals........ Oh my I was so embarrassed.........

......AS we sat there........ He told me to roll up the windows so he would not be drowned out by all the outside noise (and believe me there was noise)

........... This is his lesson......... Calm down and do not worry about what is behind you........ (the traffic was getting so bad) do not worry about the yelling and the screaming and the hand signals........ Take you time and when you are ready start your car, move forward just as though there was nothing backed up behind you........... I do not know how long I sat there and he turned and began to twrill his mustache........... When I felt comfortable, I took the keys, started the car and moved easily into the circle and around and out toward the destination that he directed me to............

Phl 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Phl 3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Phl 3:11
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Phl 3:12
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Phl 3:13
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Phl 3:14
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

There will be noise from behind us and there will be finger pointing and accusations of the mistakes that we have made and will make. There will be those that will say that we cannot attain and there will be those that will be encouraging us to press on.

We must always remeber that the rear view mirror is to just let us see where we have been and who is following..

...............Many years latter after I was born again and growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, this lesson from so many years befor would come to have a much greater meaning.

Press on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling......... Turning neither to the right or to the left..... Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus....... Forgetting what lies behing.......

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

In Christ

Denise