My little Ford Ranger is a good ol' truck. I've had her for so long that, when I first got her, the kids were still young enough to believe that sitting in those little pull down jump-seats that face each other was actually fun. That's a mighty long time.
She was my office on wheels for many years, while I went from contract merchandising, to assistant landscaper, to starting a garden design/patioscaping business. A day that ranks right up there in memory, with wedding and childbirths, was the day my magnetic signs with the Seasonality logo on them arrived, and I carefully applied them to each side of the truck.
She was my right arm when I went back to study horticulture, and has helped me landscape three houses, hauling innumerable loads of compost and mulch. She also moved kids in and out of countless dorm rooms and apartments. And, despite all this wear and tear, a deer collision, and a rear-ending, she just keeps on a-tickin'.
I think one reason I love her so much is that she came into my world just as I was awakening to the possibilities of a life away from the suburbs. We traveled the path to the good life together, and she became the symbol of my new independence. She was the first car we ever bought that was just exactly what I wanted, with no compromises whatsoever, and she stuck out like a sore thumb in our pretentious neighborhood full of BMW's and yard crews. I really liked that about her. She was my placard of protest...my march of rebellion.
When we got well past the 100,000 mile marker, and both bumpers were hanging off, John began to get a little nervous about my frequent solo trips back and forth to Dallas. He decided I needed something a little more reliable to drive, and it wouldn't hurt if it got a little better gas mileage. I kinda agreed, but just couldn't bear to part with my little Ranger-Girl, so we let her retire to a life of ease here in the Hill Country. She spends most of her time basking in the sun, with an occasional trip to the hardware store or nursery, to make her feel useful. It's the least we could do, don't you think, for such a faithful sidekick?
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4 comments:
I feel about my '96 candy-apple-baby Ranger XLT the way you paid tribute to your faithful and loyal Ranger-Girl. Mine has hauled garage-sale playscapes for my nephew and nieces, Christmas trees, cords of cut firewood, bags of potting soil and a huge old dried tumbleweed that I snagged from the side of the road last week! Our girls have taken some lickins' and just keep on tickin' !! ;-)
So you've got a Ranger-girl too! I was trying to remember what year mine was...Austin was probably in 5th or 6th grade, and he's 24 now, so maybe 96 or 97?
I guess Ford Rangers must be a woman's truck...I have such fond memories of my black '92 XLT with the jumpseats, that my two daughters once sat in all the way from Texas to Illinois! That truck was the little vehicle that could...I drove it for eleven years, till it got broadsided by a taco truck.
OMG, I can't imagine staying in one of those seats across town, much less across the country, no matter how young or small!
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