In the driver's seat
Published Tuesday August 26th, 2008
The road of life may be fraught with many bumps and mishaps but Myron and Hazel Millett both have spotless driving records. Between them, they have 114 years of accident-free driving. The Milletts could be the car insurance industry's poster couple - Myron with his 64 years, and Hazel with her 50 years, of accident-free driving.
He learned to drive in 1943, logging countless kilometres without so much as a scratch or dent. In their courting days he would pick her up in his shiny car and take her driving. They married on Sept. 17, 1947. Together they have five children.
When Hazel Millett was expecting the baby of the family, she decided it was time to get behind the wheel. Her husband taught her all of his driving skills.
Was he a good driving instructor?
Yes, she says, but she was an exceptionally gifted student. While living in Moncton in 1956, she drove back and forth in an open field. Her driver's licence came in handy. Because he worked for the Canadian National Railway as a research analyst and was away from home often. she needed to be able to drive herself and their children - including Myra, Judy, Joyce, Stewart and Georgina - wherever and whenever they needed to go.
From the time their youngest child was a year old Hazel Millet worked in office administration. Thanks to her mother, who lived with them and helped out at home, she was able to go to work, she explains.
Theirs was a busy, fun household, they recall. Their five children where constantly bringing friends home to play. That was just fine with this couple. They always knew where their kids were.
Last fall 83-year-old Myron Millett decided it was the right time to stop driving after suffering a stroke and being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
He misses it but he says he knows he's always in good hands when his wife's behind the wheel.
"She's a great driver," he says.
She adds with a chuckle: "I'm the boss now!"
Hazel Millett, who's 78, says she will keep driving until she starts to become a bad driver. But, so far so good. Her fingernails are sculpted and polished a deep red. An impressive turquoise ring adorns her hand as she grips the wheel.
"I got that ring in the 1970s on a trip to Arizona. We drove there with Myron's brother and his wife."
The men drove all the way there and back, she recalls.
So who are the better drivers? Men or women? It's an individual thing, she says.
He agrees.
"I think some women are excellent drivers and I think some men are terrible drivers. Some people are able to pay attention and have quick reaction times better that others," he says.
And she adds: "When you are driving, you should be driving and not paying attention to anything but driving."
This couple especially hates to see people who are driving while they are talking on cellphones.
"As far as I'm concerned, cellphones are a curse. You are not supposed to be talking on the phone when you are driving. You need to keep your mind on the road.
"As long as people don't have a cellphone in their hand while they're driving they should be fine," says Hazel Millett.
Whenever you need to make a call or check a map for driving directions, they say, it's always safer to pull over and park.
Almost every day there is something to do and somewhere to go.
After they wake up, the Milletts have breakfast before he reads a couple of newspapers and magazines while she gets out her knitting needles or paintbrushes to work on oil paintings and watercolours.
Whenever it's time to run errands or go for groceries, they are off to the store. He loves to shop for food and do a lot of the cooking. His homemade stew is exceptionally good, he says.
She used to do a lot of baking but now prefers to get her sweets from the local bakery.
Do they watch what they eat? No, she says with a shake of her head and a smile. They enjoy eating whatever they please.
Whenever they feel like taking a night off from the supper dishes, they jump in their car and they're off again to some of their favourite restaurants in the city.
He likes a local spot that specializes in fish and chips and hot sandwiches.
She enjoys a restaurant that serves rotisserie chicken, but she's not fussy.
"As far as I'm concerned, anyone who will cook my dinner is a good cook," she says.
Often they will get in their car to drive to North Tay where they will visit one of their daughters and her husband.
They have made many road trips to spend time with their other four children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandkids.
"We made nine trips in 10 years from here to Victoria British Columbia where our son lives. We shared the driving."
This week one of their daughters, who lives in Halifax, is here for a visit. When it's time for her to head home, Hazel will be the one doing the driving.
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