That old Truck

Untitled Part 1

In 1995 Ford Motor Company rolled thousands of shiny, brand new F250's  off the lot.  There wasn't anything special about these trucks, they were produced same as the 1994 model before them and the 1996 model that followed.  

However, one of these trucks was special in its own way.  It was preordered by a Civil Engineer who worked for the army core of engineers and his English teacher wife.  It came with what was then new features; such as power windows, automatic 4 wheel drive, and an automatic transmission.  

The Engineer used the new F2 to pull a camper all over the country.  Just him, his loving wife, a dog, and the open road.   They visited places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, San Francisco, and even Alaska.   The new truck broke down twice in Alaska, but it was okay.  The Engineer just had it fixed and was on the road again. 

The Engineer put 140,000 miles on it before the now old truck found a parking place, at the home of his step son.  Wouldn't be long and his step son's son began to drive the truck.  Just across the field to feed goats and dogs... then out into the pasture to kick up mud and dust.  

The Grandson fell in love with the old F2.  He stood against the tail gait night after night praying to God that the truc would fall into his possession given time.  Eventually he turned 16 and that old truck was just sitting and waiting on him.

A new set of headlights, a radio, and some mud tires later... that old truck meant freedom for the grandson.  He loved the sound of that old diesel engine, rumbling away in the high school parking lot. He felt safe as could be flying down country roads in the poring down rain.  

The only thing making The Grandson happier than the truck was the beautiful, petite brunet he had riding in the middle of it.  If that truck could talk, he would have been in a heap of trouble.  Every weekend the truck hid the two of them as they made out in the front seat, then ran like a mustang to get his home safely before curfew.

The old F2 was there even after The Grandson broke up with her and started working like a grown man.  The backseat that used to hold his granddad's dog was now full of tools and coke cans.  The hitch that used to support that old camper now pulled a lawn mower all over the county.  

Day after day The Grandson spent more time in the truck than he did his own house.  Filling it up with diesel every week and getting right back to work.  The truck suddenly had about a hundred new dents, and a worn spot on the steering wheel.

One day The Grandson was driving to work, with a hundred things on his mind... He glanced away from the road for a second.  Next thing he knows, he is standing up on his breaks.  He watches in horror as he slides his favorite pickup into the back of another vehicle.  The other vehicle was totaled... but that faithful old F2 had little more than a crushed bumper.  Protecting The Grandson same as always.

Then when it was time for College,  The Grandson drove that old f2 to class every morning.  He started keeping the truck washed.  The shotgun seat now held a stack of school books.  He had to get to school early, it took him forever to find a spot big enough for his big old truck. The truck simply became what the grandson needed it to become.

Ford Motor Company didn't know it; The Engineer didn't know it,  but that truck was where that 16 year old boy grew up and began to find his place in the world.  The truck is still being driven.  Pulling a trailer in the summer,  and carrying school books during the fall through spring.  It fires right up every morning,  that very old diesel engine roaring to life before settling to a strong rumble.   Ready for the days work.

The end.