Similar story. First car was a '63 Plymouth Valiant, 170 slant six, 3 on the tree
Then came the GM "F" body cars (Camaro/Firebird) and they were stick, Then a nice '78 Chevy truck, 250 inline 6, three on the tree, manual steering & manual brakes! Was a b i t c h to drive BUT working on the engine was a breeze
Fast forward to today. Still own my Original '92 F-150, 300 inline 6, 5-speed manual, Three Vibe GT's all manual (one still a project car). A couple automatics thrown in there for good measure.
As long as I physically can shift through the gears and push those pedals, I will AWAYS drive a stick where applicable. FYI ... My 89 year old dad drives my 1992 F-150 weekly and has been bugging me to get the project car (03 Vibe GT) up & running so he can drive it!