I never believed what they told me, and then it happened to me...

For the first 15 years of my driving life, I limited myself to one particular variety of automobile: anything with an automatic transmission.

I took standard drivers education (so as to get my drivers license at 15, which New Mexico allowed kids to do back then), but I got on the road course a little early. One week after my driving time was up, a manual transmission car arrived for the 14-year-olds to abuse. One week too late for me.

My family always drove automatics, thus so did I. I never really thought about driving a manual transmission car, and knowledge of stick driving didn't seem particularly important. Until about a year ago.

I've been driving an '88 T-Bird for about three years. Not a bad car, but this particular one has 215,000 miles on it. That's a lot of wear and tear. So I actually put a little thought into the T-Bird's replacement. Looked at car magazines, bought a couple used car books, etc.

The one car which always seemed to crop up was the Acura Integra. Early 90s model, so as to save on the cash. But almost all Integras are manual, and as one car lot guy told me, if you want an automatic Integra, you might as well get a Civic.

So I went around to various lots, hoping to entice a salesman to teach me how to drive a stick. Yesterday, one did.

The car in question was a '93 Saturn SL2, and he told me it drove real easy. He was right. A couple spins around the K-Mart parking lot and then about 10 minutes on the road and I had all the basics down.

Didn't want that car, though. I admit that I used the poor guy, and I feel a little bad about that. Just a little. No, instead of rewarding the generous salesman, I went back to a lot I'd scoped earlier, in hopes that a certain '90 Integra (asking price: less than $4000) was still there. It was. I took the keys (and a couple bucks from the salesman for gas money--a class touch) and hit the road.

My stick work was not nearly as smooth in the Integra. In fact, getting into first was a bitch and second wasn't easy. Once I hit third, though, it was clear skies. Sometimes I shifted just for the fun of it. Probably not the best for the engine or clutch, but what the hell.

Part of the fun was the fact that at any moment, I might fail. In fact, I had a bad experience getting started on a hill (the advice from my instructor--apply the parking brake, and then let it out as the gear engages--worked like a charm). Well, kinda. I got going after 10 seconds of abject panic. But I did get going.

The panic, the lack of security I feel is utterly invigorating. Yeah, I was scared (I'm still a bit uneasy even as I write), but I kinda like doing things that scare me. Not every day, perhaps, but once in a while. It's fun. Trying something utterly new is, indeed, a priceless experience (thank you, Mastercard).

The fun is the thing. I've got friends who swear by stick driving (but they weren't friendly enough to let me learn on their cars, of course), and all the things they said are true. In fact, all the rhapsodic paeans to driving that I never quite understood have become quite clear.

I finally get the notion of the car as lover.

Perhaps it has something to do with the increased tactile experience. Rather than just gripping the steering wheel and occasionally tapping on the gas or brake, there's near-constant double-fisted, double-footed action. Mash the clutch, change the gear, let out the clutch and engage the gas. All the while steering and watching the road.

And the road itself! I could really feel it. This wasn't just the pseudo-sport suspension on the Integra. I could feel the road as the tires felt it. All of a sudden, driving has become a rather sensual experience.

In fact, I was so knocked out that I signed up for a vanity plate. Yes, I know it's, well, vain, and certainly silly (I'm not going so far as stupid), but hell, why not? AIDABET. Hope I don't get pulled over more often. We'll see.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear you out there. This is just an infatuation. It's a new toy, a new experience, excitement that will pass as I actually master the whole stick shift process. There will come a point (probably within a month) when the novelty will wear off. All true, I must admit.

But I'll still be left with an increased relationship with my car (gosh, I might even wash this one once or twice a year), and there's always the pleasure of hard shifting up to 70 mph. A nice way to let off steam. I always liked that particular action in video games, and I think I'm gonna like it as part of my real life.

Jon Worley's full-time stick status begins in two days.