To this day I still don’t know exactly why I like it so but I do. From my earliest recollections up until the last time I drove it. There is just something that I am not even sure I can explain but I am definitely going to give it a shot. Could well be it is just something that only appeals to me but still here is what it is.
About almost twenty years ago I went out and bought a very used old truck. All those years I was on the farm and for many years after I left the farm I had a pickup truck. The old truck we had was a three quarter ton 1961 Ford. It had been built for hauling and not much for show. For our purpose that was just fine and that old truck hauled anything we needed it to and when we wanted it to. It was a four on the floor and was geared so it would never get past 60 but you could load twice as much as it was built to haul and you could never tell by the sound of the engine that it was doing so.
After we had moved from the farm and a good many years later the old truck finally began showing its wear and was parked in a barn so it could retire and rest. That might have been good for the truck but from then on whenever I wanted or needed to haul something I would have to go to a friend and bother them by borrowing their truck. I had never had to do that before and it just didn’t feel right to have to do. I missed the freedom of having my own truck so I could use it at a time I would want.
So one Saturday morning my son and I got in the car and headed to used car lots that dealt in used trucks. Since I had mentioned I was wanting to get one my son went on the internet and found some nice looking older trucks at a very low price. Even though I hadn’t ask for his help I in reality was tickled that he had. So with his printed directions to these places in hand we took off in hunt of a truck.
We ended up over on the north side of Goshen and this was the third one we were stopping at I was beginning to think we were going to be out hunting again. Thing was that at this lot the owner said he had what he thought I was looking for in stock. He said he had just got it in and that it was a one owner and had belonged to a cattle farmer. (There were several beef association stickers on the rear window to vouch for it.)
So my son and I loaded up and took this bright red half ton Chevrolet for a test drive. This was almost too good to be true as it ran smooth and handled nicely. The truck bed had a great bed liner. The cab had a radio and air conditioning. It came with an automatic transmission and the flooring was a rubberized material so if you got it all muddy you could hose it out.
We returned from our test drive and I negotiated as best I could and when all was said and done I was driving it home with my son driving the family car. (He had just become licensed so he just liked getting to drive.) Probably for the first five years it was used quite a bit moving things as I wanted and helping others who still didn’t have that truck at their convenience. The main thing was though that this vehicle was something I used in my spare time.
I don’t have a garage for it to be in so over the years I have owned it the truck has been exposed to the elements. It is so very true that if a vehicle just sits there more than likely it will fall apart so much faster. That was happening in my case. I decided that I don’t want to lose it yet so I invested a little repair into it and these days that old truck seems to be purring again. It isn’t going those long drives with real heavy loads any more.
The thing is that if I need to haul tree limbs from my daughter’s house I can do that. If I want to haul the roto tiller from my son’s house I can do that also. It is nice to have the truck at my bid to do errands with. Yes that old truck isn’t as bright red as when I got it and the air conditioning only is working in the winter. That radio I thought was so neat to have only is getting one channel now and that is WLW. So no music for sure.
With all I have said and all the pluses and minuses that goes with ole red there is one thing that it offers me. I don’t know just why but when I take the truck on a run the world looks different to me. Maybe it is because I am sitting higher and am seeing things at a different angle. Since I also told you that it isn’t a truck that needs the interstates or busy highways I drive it down the side roads so to speak. They are more of the County and Township roads and run more through the country.
Even though my days of farm life are way behind me I still like to look at how farm life is looking these days. When you drive past a farm and you see a field of corn or soy beans you are seeing those commodities being raised. Maybe on a hot afternoon you will pass a fenced field and up next to the barn on the shade side or gathered close together under a grove of shade trees will be the cattle resting and if you look closely they are positioned so that their tails are swishing flies of another cows while another tail is swishing them off of them. You are also looking at where your beef comes from. Look near a house and you might find their vegetable garden. Close enough to carry to the dinner table.
I don’t feel that I notice these things as much as when I am in my old Chevy. Could be that since I’m driving slower I see things longer and closer. I like to think that on those drives in my ole red truck I’m somewhat in a time machine that is taking me back in time to when I was the one being looked at. Thing is these days I don’t want to be on the work side of the scenery. Nope I just love to cruise by and get to enjoy the moment.
Rick Houser grew up on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. If you are interested in reading more of his stories they can be found in his books ‘There are Places to Remember” and’ Memories ARE from the Heart.” He may be reached at [email protected] or mail to P.O. Box 213 Bethel, Ohio 45106.