Saturday afternoon, in the misting drizzle, a red Nissan pickup pulled in and out jumped a guy a bit older than me with a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. and he wanted to look at my old beater truck. After some miscellaneous conversation (in which I learned some interesting things, such as his dad was born in the hospital in Toledo back in nineteen-twenty-something before it burned down) he told me he heard about the truck from a neighbor of mine. I asked him for $500.00 but in a short time I had sold it and made 25% profit (cost of $100.00 and $100.00 in taxes and licensing and I sent it on for $250.00.) Not going to make a living that way but it was one more small task completed and one less component in my life that needed attention now. Wow... little by little things are getting done.
I need to be cognizant along the way of the "goodbyes" though. Reflecting on that, it was the 5th truck I have owned here and all them were a bit of an adventure. In glorious order:
(1) The "mouse hotel" I got from Joe Martin which smoked so much while driving that we carried a fire extinguisher when we had to drive farther than 10 miles
(2) The $700.00 GM that was a real guy's truck (though I did peel the 36 inch Harley Davidson sticker off the back window). This truck must have had a local reputation before I bought it because I got pulled over at least twice-in Toledo-while driving it.
(3) The red Chevy [see above] that all 4 (that's four!) of us took on a camping trip to Canada along with 2 dogs (the trip when Poppy Seed got parvo virus and vomitted for two days during camping near Penticton...)
(4) The green truck under which I shorted the starter on across my wedding ring and badly burnt my finger-giving me a permanent wedding ring scar. That truck I never got running but still was able to sell for $400.00.
(5) This good running truck looked like moving scrap, painted flesh color (even though the title generously indicated it was "tan.") It started well, but stopped very poorly as the master cylinder was out and I had to STAND on the pedal. I just began using very generous following distances and slowing down by gearing down. We carried sheep and garbage and lumber in it. With one of Beth's inspirations, this truck also helped us paint the house: I backed it up to the house or parked it VERY close alongside, and, by putting plywood down on the cargo rack, I stood on the platform 6 feet above the ground and could reach most of the second story walls!
These trucks have been incidental parts of life here, and now-almost inadvertanly-they are quiety gone. I guess they were more important to me than they were to anyone else in the family, naturally, and I feel sad to see them go. Now, quietly, they are all gone with only a few reminders left. There are piles of cut grass on the lawn that I was going to rake into the truck and haul away-looks like it will be with a wheelbarrow now instead. And the spare tire I forgot to put in the truck is leaning against the tractor shed.