Larger Than Life

 I've always loved a pickup. Maybe that's everyone - I guess I really don't know. But there's something larger than life when riding in a pickup, looking down on everyone below in their mid-sized cars.

Of course, my love affair began as a child when riding in the pickup meant a day at the farm counting cattle, forging dirt roads knee-deep in mud, and waving at farmers lazily idling by on their tractors.

I learned to drive with a pickup, knuckles white as I gripped the steering wheel and stared bug-eyed at the road ahead of me. "Give it some gas," Dad hollered, and I leerily raised the speed to 25 mph. Of course, it wasn't long until I could hold my own on those dirt roads, steering comfortably with one hand while watching the wheat fields go by.

When Roy and I married, it never dawned on us to buy a pickup; no need really. But when we went home to Oklahoma and I climbed into Dad's pickup there on the farm - well, that's when I knew I was really home. We'd take off down the road, Dad and me, resuming our familiar routine as though I'd never left - Dad driving, toothpick in his mouth, country music - the old country music that included "hits" by Roy Clark and such - playing on the AM radio, and the two of us reminiscing about days gone by.

Roy bought a Toyota Tacoma back in 2000 - a little red, two-door pickup that served us well over the years. Initially it pulled his airplane trailer behind it. Then Savana took it to college followed by Darian - both of them driving it over 200 miles one way as they traversed back and forth from school on weekends and vacations and such. Eventually, Jace inherited the truck until one day, as he waiting at a red light, a guy cut the corner and slammed into him, throwing the body of the truck right off the frame. That was a sad day for all of us as the wrecker came and hauled it off. We might not have physically placed our hands over our hearts, but I sure thought about it. You served us well, little Sadie, I thought. Thank you.

But "Sadie" was just a little truck - reliable as the day is long. But she wasn't exactly "sexy." As trucks go, she didn't quite "cut the mustard."

A couple of years ago, Roy and I started toying with the idea of purchasing a truck as a second vehicle - a real, live, honest to goodness truck. A sexy one. A larger than life one. But Roy's picky. Imagine that. He didn't want a 4 wheel drive. And when you live in Texas? Well, a 2WD is hard to find. Texans like big and loud and rough and tumble. A 4WD meets all of the criteria...but we were willing to wait. No hurry 'round here.

On Saturday, Roy and I decided to go to Hobby Lobby, maybe visit Target....you know - a little retail therapy. Good for the soul. So as we headed that way, I pulled up Echo Park Automotive - a dealership we'd already established as the place we'd go to buy when the day finally arrived. I quickly set the perameters to search for a truck that was a 2WD and within our price range, fully expecting a big fat "O available" response.

But whattayaknow! There in front of me was a big, black truck! And it was a 2WD! And it was sexy! "We should go see it," I said to Roy casually. "Those don't pop up too often."

And then I put my phone away, settled back and dreamed of Hobby Lobby - all the things I'd buy with Roy's money.

And then we passed our turn.

I looked at Roy curiously. "Where we going?" I asked casually.

"Well, you said we should go look at it," he responded, a twinkle in his eye.

And then I grinned. Ear to ear. "We're buying a truck," I said, laughing. 

And we did.

And now? Well now we drive down the road and we look down at all of those people in their mid-sized cars, living their mid-sized lives. And we watch the land whiz by as we drive on, larger than life.