That truck drove us not only on many dates, but also through our marriage, the birth of two boys, a dozen moves to new houses (not to mention moves for other people's houses), graduate school, all the way to Davis's driver's license. It brought home Christmas trees, cords of wood, furniture, and bicycles.
In this photo, Stephen is loading Ben Remler's Christmas present,
a sand box, into the back of the truck.
1991
When Stephen first bought the truck, it was navy blue with a silver stripe along the side. Years went by, and the truck began to show wear and tear. It was the victim of a few reckless drivers, not to mention a four year old. One morning Stephen went into the garage to find Davis playing there. "What are you doing out here?" Stephen asked.
"Oh, I'm sanding the truck," Davis replied.
Here's Dawn conversing with Davis, who is
playing in the back of the Lucky Truck.
1995
This was when it still had a stripe.
Shortly thereafter, the truck got a new paint job, and from then on it's been solid blue.
Although it was Stephen's primary vehicle for years, once we had children, it moved to secondary status. Still, we put the miles on it. And others did too. Whenever friends needed to haul something to the dump or home from the furniture store, they borrowed the truck. And that's how it got its name.
By the mid 1990's, the truck had a huge dent on its side. Paint was peeling from the top, and the air conditioner worked when it felt like it. Still, the truck was good for many heavy duty jobs, and when friends' cars broke down, they used the truck as temporary wheels. Oddly enough, when the truck decided to break down, it always did so while others were borrowing it. So they fixed it for us. How lucky!
We used the truck to move into our first
house at 106 Neva Avenue, 1990.
But that wasn't the only thing. The truck has also been stolen. At the time, though, it wasn't getting much use. Stephen didn't even know about the theft until the police called him one day. "Do you know where your truck is?" they asked.
"Obviously I don't, or you wouldn't be calling me," Stephen replied. "Where is it?"
It was in a ditch on Mills B. Lane, stripped of its tires and its batteries, the windows bashed in. Nothing of value was in the truck to be stolen, and insurance paid to repair it--even the dents and peeling paint that had been there for years. How lucky!
From then on the Silverado became the Lucky Truck.
And it was lucky in other ways too. Every year on Saint Patrick's Day, we managed to get a prime parking spot along Abercorn Street, and we put our coolers, jackets, snacks in the bed of the truck and sat on top of it to watch the parade.
Saint Patrick's Day, 2007
During the Beach Bum Parade on Tybee, we lined the Lucky Truck's bed with plastic and filled it with water for the kids to reload their water guns. Ever since Davis was old enough to talk, we've told him that was the truck he would drive, and at sixteen, he got his license and took the wheel of the Lucky Truck, which he used to pull his boat, drive to school, and host tail gate parties at BC football games.
Now 22 years and 300,000 miles later, the Lucky Truck is moving on. Davis now drives Clifford, the Big Red Truck, and the Lucky Truck is moving on to another's driveway. I'm sad to see the truck go, but happy that it will have a good home. Stephen says we might see it around from time to time as he has sold it to one of his painters.
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