Talked with a lady last week who looked to be about a century old. But she didn't say and I didn't ask. She was perceptive enough to see what I was thinking so she told me that old age didn't mean the loss of doing things. To illustrate that, she told me about some of her ailments. "I'm blind in one eye and can't see much with the other," she stated. " I can't hear it thunder, my memory is not what it used to be and sometimes I forget what I've just said."

She continued, "Sometimes I forget what I've just said and arthritis has stiffened my joints 'til I can hardly bend my knees or fingers. But all's not lost, I've still got my drivers license!"

Speaking of driving, I accidently bought a new truck. Now this word "new" is a nuance. For it's not really a "new" truck, just "new" to me. Goodness, I'm talking like a liberal politician, better start over.
It was an accident, but I bought a truck, an '04 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. I used to think those were the ugliest trucks on the road. But now I own one; it's a beauty. Again, it was an accident, I had no plans to buy a vehicle. We had a van to haul the grand kids, a car to drive to ball games and a small size GMC pickup.

I know that's three vehicles for two drivers. But one is four years old and the others are 10 and 12. I have driven that GMC to about a million ball games and it has been a good one. It still is, but the miles have rolled up and those little doubts before interstate trips in the winter make one want a more dependable vehicle. That's why I bought the car.
It was a good car, a low mileage 2000 Buick I meant to drive to at least as many ball games as I did the truck.

Notice I said it was a good car; that explains how buying the truck came about by accident. I didn't mean to buy one but did so out of necessity. Just to set the record straight, I wasn't driving when the accident took place. I'll not tell you who, but the accident was not Brandon's fault. On his way to church he stopped at a red light, but another driver didn't. Whack! No more Buick. A total loss.

Now the adjuster for the other owner's insurance was super nice. The first thing she did was rent a nice Ford F-150 for me to drive. (Wonder if she got a commission when I bought my Ford?)
For that gave me the fever for a nice pickup, and a man with a fever for a new, (there's the nuance again), automobile will find a logical explanation for buying one. And I found a good one.

Buying a new truck would mean replacing three automobiles with two. Hey, one less tag and wheel tax to pay and the pleasure of dropping an insurance premium due notice into the round file. A win-win deal.

After several days cruising the Internet I found the truck I wanted at a dealer in North Carolina. So after an e-mail inquiry, a phone call, a drive over the mountains and an hour of haggling I was on my way home with my new truck.

Hey, the lady was right, problems don't always mean you can't have what you want.

taylormadetalk@yahoo.com