Trucks, so much more than metal on wheels

I think I can effectively speak for all men when I say; I have aspirations to be like Jay Leno.

No I don’t want to be a media icon, no I don’t want to host a late night TV show, but man would I like to have a garage with more cars in it than I know what to do with.

For those of you that do not follow me on Facebook or Twitter, I made a post the other day detailing a particular struggle I am facing. Every day on my way to work I am reminded that I don’t have $20k just sitting around that I can throw at something I don’t really need! On my way to work I drive past a used car lot that sell mostly classic cars and trucks, and recently they parked a Green and White 1957 Ford F-100 front and center on the lot, and it is killing me.

I have found that the passion for classic cars and trucks is often a manifestation of fond childhood memories, and this story is no different. My grandpa is really the one who led me to my passion not only for Trucks, and by extension, Ford products in general. I would also like to note my grandfather is still very much alive, so please don’t think I am leading you on some Hallmark channel sob story, though he does love the Hallmark channel.

 Growing up, I used to spend summers on my grandparent’s farm in northern Minnesota. He would drive me around countryside in his old International pick-up truck, and we would drive around the countryside for no real reason at all, just to spend time and enjoy the scenery.

When I was 16 I thought that I could tap into that nostalgia by buying a 1988 Chevy S-10 from my grandpa, but that nostalgic euphoria was really short lived for reasons that I will get into in another blog post, but either way it didn’t quite pan out because I was missing the point. It wasn’t just a truck that forged those memories; it was spending time with my grandpa over common interests, listening to nature and riding in pick-up trucks. Here is a link to an article I read about a man that can truly relate.

So, let’s get back to why seeing this truck every day is killing me softly. Like I said, it’s really not about the truck itself, though it is an amazing truck, it’s about life getting in the way of living. As I am sure everyone experiences, as we grow up life gets complicated. We have jobs, kids, responsibilities; and just like I am reminded daily, we long for the simplicity and solace of sitting in the bed of an old pick-up truck with a loved one, staring out at a corn field, not a care in the world.