Keep On Truckin'

1920s pickup truck

The universal symbol of rural areas is a pickup truck. They have been in use for generations and have survived the age of fashion statements as in "in" vehicle to drive. Long before they became popular we were using some northern college kids to help us clear brush at the farm. On the way home one turned to me and said, "I wish I had the pickup truck franchise down here. I'd make a fortune."
These sturdy vehicles are used every where for dozens and dozens of chores. People are known by the truck they drive, someone may not know the owner's name, but you can be sure they know the truck. They seldom wear out and often a good overhaul is less expensive than the cost of a new one, so in terms of a sound investment nothing beats the purchase of a pickup truck.

2015 Chevy

Everyone has their own personal favorite manufacture. Many an argument has originated as to the virtues of each brand. For ourselves, other than switching to four-wheel drive thirty-five years ago it is the same basic design.
Meeting a truck coming toward you institutes a wonderful southern custom of waving. It is of small significance whether the driver is known to you. He may not know you personally, but is waving at a truck he does recognize, so you wave back to return the greeting. This custom drives outsiders crazy as they spend the rest of the day trying to figure out who that stranger was who waved at them in the morning.
The following is a true story that happened to us on a visit for an IRS audit in a large city:

"It was 12 degrees below zero, most of our records were frozen in the trunk of the car.
"The auditor asked, "What do use a pickup truck for on a farm?"
"All I could see, in my mind, was hand carrying each bale of hay from the field to the barn. My brilliant answer, "To get from place to place."
I immediately packed up what I had, walked out, and requested another auditor.
Later, a friend who owned the largest dairy operation in the county and knew of our experience got the same guy, who asked the same question.
Sam's answer, "To haul manure. Want a lift?"
     Nash Black, Writing as a Small Business, 2008, p. 84

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