Then my ol' man offered to move her there in his truck.
Well! "Hey, you wanna have Papa take your stuff in the F100?"
"HECK YES!"
The college always has teams of students who've moved in early to help with the grunt work. You should have seen these kids when my dad and daughter showed up.
Eager 19-yr-old dude: I'll carry everything in if you let me take that truck for a spin.
My ol' man: chuckle chuckle chuckle nahhhhh I don't think so.
Oh yeeeeeaaaahhhhhh!
Last year, backing up to the front of the residence building in the Honeybadger was one of those experiences that normal people would be embarrassed by. The thing looks like scrap metal. But we're weird. We love our nasty truck. We don't even really think of it as old. It's only 24 years old. My dad's truck? That's old. Well, most of it. Parts of it are a variety of vintages. Our truck is awesome in a defiant kind of way.
Papa's truck is awesome in... well, every way, pretty much.
Besides being awesome, these two trucks have only one other thing in common: they're both packing a small block Chevy under the hood.
The family that moved in later with a perfect Chevy SS truck with low profile tires and chrome rims? They think it's awesome. We'll let them....
Meanwhile, Bucky was planning his own arrival at school. It's his last year of high school, and he got his G2 licence this summer. He had to drive himself to school today. It's only right.
But he opted not to drive his favourite little VW. He's taking the truck.
Why?
BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME.
Faded paint, peeling off the front fender, dents, mismatched rims, rust spots, inadequate exhaust... the thing runs perfectly and stops, so what's the problem here?
Well heck. It only takes 20 minutes to drive to his school from here. I'm sure in that time he won't be deafened. Or get pulled over. Or run out of gas.
STYLE. That's how we do things around here.
5 comments:
That's Great!! My gosh, your girl looks so much like you, and my, Bucky! How all grown he has gotten.
What a great pair of kids, Heidi!
Thanks!!! I think they're pretty awesome!
I too was driving my youngest back to McMaster for his final year, with my trusty, rusty Jeep Cherokee, that's now 15 years old and showing her age. I encountered a few raised eyebrows amongst the many bright gleaming cars and SUVs. Of course, they looked spotless, not having to claw themselves up a steep gravel access to reach the sideroad. They don't have to negotiate washboard surface that shakes your liver loose, and don't have to cross over a low gulch that in the slightest weather turns into a raging torrent. But my trusty lady does, day after day, sleet or snow, and worst when hell froze over.
But that was not what I wanted to talk about. It was about kids returning to school. McMaster was buzzing, becoming the epicenter of growing excitement, luring long streams of young people into its maw, all burdened with backpacks with an eagerness to learn shining in their eyes, anticipating the opening lecture. In their preoccupation they paid no heed to the traffic and I nearly took out two of them. Looking at the swirl of their vast tide, I wished that I was back in those years. Who was going to teach what and was I going to get along with him/her? But who cares, there is my friend to wave to... Oh, yes.
Nice post. Your young people look eager to resume their striving.
This is great! I love your old truck! And the one in the top pictures!!
Value really isn't in age or condition or what other people think... it's all about what it means to you.
Paul, you pretty much nailed it there, the excitement I could see in them, especially her! I felt so much better driving away knowing she was where she needs to be.
And you know how I feel about your Jeep!
Heidi, You know what a sentimental sap I am for my old trucks! I keep saying it would cost me $25,000 to replace my truck... which is worth about $25 at the scrap yard!
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