When Ming finished school just over a year ago, his cohort was issued with school windcheaters which each kid was allowed to have labelled with their name or a nickname. Ming chose “Ming the Merciless.”
I was reminded of this when we drove into town yesterday morning for him to have his driving test. All the way in (20 minutes), he yelled different versions of a victory cry at the top of his lungs – for example:
ROOOAAARRRRGH – I AM GOING TO WIN THIS TIME!
ROOOAAARRRRGH – I AM MING THE MERCILESS!
ROOOAAARRRRGH – THIS IS MY DAY!
ROOOAAARRRRGH – DEATH TO THIS TEST!
ETC.
Eventually, I managed to quieten him a little by saying, “Now I want you to keep roaring, and I am sure you will pass this time, but just in case you don’t, it’s okay.”
He resumed his roar of absolute confidence even more loudly!
When we arrived, we waited outside, with another kid and his driving instructor, for the driving assessors to come out of the licencing centre. Ming had ceased roaring, but even his ordinary voice is LOUD, so he rather overwhelmed the other kid (who was very shy) with:
IS THIS YOUR FIRST TEST? DON’T WORRY, MATE, YOU’LL BE RIGHT! THIS IS MY FOURTH! WE ARE GOING TO NAIL IT! YES, YES, YES!
In the meantime I had a much quieter conversation with shy kid’s driving instructor.
“He’s just excited,” I said.
Öh,”he said.
Then (at exactly 7.50am) the driving assessors whooshed out of the building and called out the names of the victims ha! The shy kid simply nodded when his name was called but Ming yelled, “MING YES, THAT’S ME!”
A few minutes later, it was just the shy kid’s driving instructor and me sitting on a bench outside the centre, making pleasant smalltalk. I was trying very hard not to bite my fingernails!
About 25 minutes later, both assessors and boys arrived back. Unfortunately, the shy kid had failed outright so, as I watched his driving instructor and his mother commiserate with him, I also watched Ming’s body language as he sat inside the car listening to his assessor. I was still sitting on the bench at a distance from the car so I couldn’t hear what was being said but, at one point Ming put his head in his hands, then he threw his arms up in the air, then repeated both gestures before getting out of the car. I didn’t know if this meant he’d passed or failed.
As his assessor slipped back into the licencing centre, Ming approached the shy kid, and the shy kid’s mother and driving instructor with a loud ROAR, punching the air. They were standing just outside the centre whereas I was at a slight distance still glued to my bench. I yelled out, “Ming, yes or no?” as I ran towards him, but he didn’t hear me above his huge voice.
But, just as I reached him, he threw his arms around the shy kid’s driving instructor (someone we have never met before, by the way), and I knew he’d passed the test! He then shook the shy kid’s hand nearly off, saw me (finally!) and kissed me soundly on both cheeks and we entered the licencing centre, with Ming yelling:
WHO CAN I KISS OR HUG?
CHAMPAGNE AND CAVIAR!
JOY, BLISS, FREEDOM, I LOVE THE WORLD!
Ming, the Merciless!
jmgoyder 
Hi Julie
That’s such a good description of his joy. I can almost feel his excitement .
Yes, I think the whole town could feel it – ha!
Ming, please take care for many other road users can be merciless, too. Roar on, Ming.
Still early days – he still has to do 6 months on logs – argh!
Love this story. Love you and your son! yeah!
Anthony used to very loud too, but Ming’s voice is deafening!
I just loved this!! Ming the Merciless indeed. This will be a part of family lore for long time to come. 🙂
What a scene he caused!
That is such a great story! Brenda in the boro is right, I can almost feel his bliss too! 🙂
It’s the next day now and his bliss is still LOUD!
cool! I recommend ear plugs. 😉
Hail to MIng the Merciless!!!!!! ❤
He will love this from you, Dodsy!
guess I wrote a rather sad post yesterday and gardengirl sent me over here for some bliss and boy was she right–of course I would have been here anyway today — but isn’t it nice to know that all kinds of people are celebrating your and Ming’s big bliss?
Thanks! And thanks to GG!
Ming the LOUD! Go out an get em, boy 😉
My ears are still ringing!
LOL How do you get Ming to come out of his shell? It must be hard for your to watch when he struggles to find his voice and maintain eye contact with people! 😉 My kid’s not shy either.
Ha!
Good on Ming.. well done… what a lovely rendition of the day .. thanks Julie.. smiles all round..
It was so funny!
I don’t know whether to laugh or just say, Awwwww……
Please tell him congratulations for me! (Unless of course we aren’t supposed to know!) 😉
Ha – I think Ming still secretly looks at the blog (especially if it’s about him!
😉
Really glad he got it…I remember how important it was when our kids were going through the same thing…Diane
Over here the rules are so strict!
I felt his excitement right through my computer screen. Fantastic! Your poor nerves during the wait time. That’s always the worst part, almost makes you want to take the test for them. Hooray for Ming the Merciless and Jules!
Nerve-wracking!
Brilliant! 🙂
Yes indeed, and such a relief!
That’s what you called bold determination! Congratulations, Ming! Now you can both BREATHE!
Yes and thank you!
I love it! What a great story! Congratulations to Ming the Merciless!
Unforgettable!
Congratulations to Ming. It’s certainly a great feeling. and he just had to let it all out. 😀
It’s so weird – he used to be shy!
Congrats, Ming! Champagne, yes! But NOT when you are driving…;)
Ha!
Fantastic news …. Well done, Ming … Look out all kangaroos now – Ming is out there.
I’m sure those kangaroos will get out of the way!
… I hope so for the kangaroos own sake. *smile
Way to go Ming! Roar loudly boy!
Don’t encourage him to roar any more – he is deafening!
Awwww ~ this gave me huge smiles Julie ~ Good Job Ming ~~ See what happens when we keep the vision – Happy Day! xxoo
You are so right! Now, please email me with update on you.
Ming sure is a ‘larger than life’ character – he’ll go a long way in life as no one will ever fail to know he’s around.
Are loud voices a ‘farmer’ characteristic? My Aunts & Uncles who were farmers all have loud voices. (I don’t mean this as a criticism, by the way – I just wondered if they were used to yelling across the fields or farmyard to be heard).
You are right about the farmer yelling thing – haha!
Congrats. BTW, what is ‘logs’?
Sorry – logbook in which to record kms driven before he gets proper licence!
Yay and Congrats! Love his spirit!
The licencing centre was rocking!
so awesome 😉
It can be a tad embarrassing – ha!
Roll with it!
This was a lovely story. Congratulations to him. Thank you dear Julie, have a nice weekend, love, nia
Thanks, Nia!
What a character he is! This had me laughing out loud.
Point of Order, Mr Speaker: I thought it was against the law for Australians to be shy?
He really knows how to make a scene!
A very different take! Very good!
Oh thank you!
I assume he passed, haha
Yes, but still 6 months before he gets the real thing – such a rigmarole!
Now this was great I could just picture Ming punching the air and being so excitied made me feel good reading this.
It was hilarious!
Love it! Go Ming!
Too bad we don’t carry more of that youthful exuberance with us into our middle age and beyond! We might make better use of it than the young. Then again …
He is a bit contagious so I was a teensy bit loud too – ha!
Good for you!
Thats funny! Well done to Ming! Now you’ll be really biting your nails haha xx
anon.?
Whoop Whoop!! Another mountain conquered…now on to the next one! 🙂 Congrats Ming and LOL Jules…what a kid!
He is a little extreme!
that’s good…he won’t get lost in a crowd! 🙂
Julie, I suspect the day I got my drivers licence (about a million yrs ago) I was just as excited as Ming, but I kept it bottled up inside. To be able to express one’s joy in such a manner is wonderful, and a trait I never learned. I am quite happy for Ming (btw I only needed one attempt), But even more happy for his ability to show his joy. Take care, Bill