Skills we should keep or drop 2

 As computerization continues formerly essential skills like switchboard operation or being a human calculator have perished.

With any change comes loss, and more than a few life skills society used to take for granted are falling by the wayside.

Continuing on the theme of what skills we should keep or drop, have you ever driven a stick shift? One of my first vehicles was a 49 Mercury Truck that had a stick shift and my wife drove a 59 Hillman Minx which also had a stick shift. We live in the city, and it became easier on the car to drive an automatic, but I miss driving a stick shift.

EPA data says that 35% of U.S. cars that were launched in the 1980 model year had manual transmissions. But, 40 years later, that number has dropped to about 1%.

With electric cars outselling those with manual transmissions in 2019, according to The New York Times, manuals may soon go the way of the dodo — at least in the States but that is a shame. A friend of mine has an electric car and it has power but for those who like the sound of power, revving the engine, dropping the clutch, and peeling out still have some appeal. With an electric car, you can still peel out, but there is no engine noise with it. I think the days of the stick shift are gone and will never come back, but I will miss those days.