Saddle up and ride.

The start of a fire career.

The end of a fire career.

I spent time today getting service and maintenance done on Mikes truck. At 8am I was at the Chrysler dealership where they were going to give the truck the full treatment in preparation for some miles that we are going to put on it this fall. I know these guys well. I have been to see them on a regular basis these past 5 years. The first time I arrived for my scheduled appointment in 2007 I couldn't say my name and I couldn't say Mikes.. I simply handed them the paperwork and waited. It was at this dealership that I learned Mike had bought and paid for extended warranty. It was here that I was told there is roadside service on the truck. For the past five years these guys have guided me through the care and maintenance of a truck that they know is very important to me.

Then there is this: When Mike was a kid he was like all boys. He argued the merits of trucks. From the time boys learn there is a difference it seems as tho they choose their loyalty. Ford vs. Chevy. In the small school where Mike was a student he was a fan club of one. For Dodge. In those days I worked at the school and I overheard many conversations about trucks. Boys can be ruthless in their arguments and a less dedicated Dodge fan may have given up and gone over to the other side. Mike has never had any "quit". He was Dodge, period. Not just any Dodge either. Mike was fascinated with the Cummins Diesel engine. He read everything he could get his hands on in those days and then he started to dream. At 12 years old he drew endless pictures of Dodge trucks, by 16 he was combing the want ads in the hopes of finding a Dodge he could afford. In 1994 Mike was a sophomore in High School, he got a job at the local small town service station where he did anything they told him to. It was the days of full-service gas, oil checks and tire service. Mike worked hard. When he had a few hundred dollars saved he came across a beat-up old Maroon Dodge. It ran....barely. He pulled the steel box off the back, slapped his dog box on and if it wasn't the truck of  his dreams....at least it was a Dodge. To give you an idea of how bad it looked, his sisters would jump out at school before he had barely stopped rolling so no one would think they rode in that to school. When Mike was involved in a minor traffic accident, the truck was called "a hazardous vehicle". It wasn't funny but it kinda was. Mike drove that truck until she had nothing left to give and then he upgraded to a less "hazardous vehicle". Still Dodge. He went on to drive one more Dodge before he left for college. In college he realized the harsh reality of being completely broke. The Dodge trucks were taking more than their share of Mikes limited income and he made the decision to drive a Nissan. He went from the Nissan to a Toyota, the one pictured above. He had graduated from College and was heading west for his first fire assignment. The Toyota got him there and back for several seasons and then Mike bought a Chevy. He drove this Chevy until 2005.

In the summer of 2005 I was standing in the kitchen of our "Four Oaks" house when the phone rang. When I answered it was Mike. To hear his voice in the summer was always a treat. He called only sporadically, sometimes climbing mountains to get a signal. The summer of 2005 was a really bad fire year.The guys had worked 1200 hours of overtime. We had hardly heard from Mike at all. His crew was on mandatory time-off and they were at their home base for 48 hours.
I said "hey! good to hear from you, what are you doing?", this is what Mike said."Mom, I'm sitting in the parking lot of the Dodge dealer looking at my dream truck". He went on to tell me it had everything he wanted, Cummins diesel, standard transmission, short box, 4 door, 2500, red. I said "can you afford it?" Mike said "yes". I said "go and make the deal".

This is what I know: I am not one bit reasonable about this truck. I wash it, I wax it. I aluminum polish the wheels. I take it in for regular service and I debate the merits of diesel additive, synthetic oils, #1 or #2 diesel and winter blends. I angst over any new scratches, I watch for and worry about deer hits, there is a new chip in the windshield that is making me crazy.
In the flurry of paperwork that ensued in the early days of December 2006 and on through 2007 I knew one thing for sure. No one was taking that truck. The attorney told me that more than likely Dodge would call the loan immediately due.Even though the truck was 2/3 paid for, Mike bought the truck as a single man, with no co-signers. The attorney said the debt would be due immediately. He was wrong. In the world of business when I was met with all manner of business emotion from kindness to pity to indifference to mild cruelty, Dodge/Chrysler was simply business. They spelled out in detail the process I would need to go through.The paperwork was sent when they said they would send it. There was a cover letter explaining everything I would need to know and need to do and why. It was an education in "Gold Stamp Notary" and the transferring of an asset worth more than my first home. I was not able to keep the truck in Mikes name like I asked, for which they apologized. From the first phone call I made to them to the last they were professional and prompt with no emotion involved. Roughly 2 months after the process was completed I went to the mailbox where there was a letter from Daimler/Chrysler. The letter expressed sincere condolences and appreciation for the smooth transaction of our business. There was a check inside refunding all transfer fees, business fees and postage fees.

For 18 months Mike drove his "dream truck". Even though this truck cost roughly $40,000 and most parents would be so scared to have their child take on that kind of debt. I will never regret saying "go and make the deal". You can't put a price on a dream that started at 12 and was paid for with 1200 overtime hours of fire.

Nolan now calls the black Toyota his truck. He spends hours in it traveling to places only he can dream of. If his girl cousins are here they all load up and take trips to Mexico and wherever you think is far away when you are under 10. Sometimes Pops starts the engine and they cruise around the hay field on practice runs for the day Nolan will hold the keys. Marty says when he retires, he is going to restore it for Nolan's 16th Birthday. The red Dodge we will care for....forever. For the same reason you can't put a price on a dream, the dream can never be sold.

On Nolan's 2nd birthday this is what I wrote in his birthday card:

Dearest Nolan,
When your Uncle Mike B. was 2 years old he had a blue baseball cap he wore everywhere. He had a long steel tool-box he carried with him cause a guy has to have his stuff. His choice of "wheels" was a small red tricycle, much like the one you got from your Mom and Dad. Nannie and Poppa keep it in the garage and you and your cousins will all ride it. Mike's tricycle was his first sense of freedom, he could ride that trike anywhere as long as he could still see his house. He was never again without something to ride, bikes, 4wheelers, dirt bikes, dog sleds, helicopters, tractors and fire trucks. From his first red trike to his last red truck...he was free. He would tell you "saddle up Cowboy and just ride".


till next time.