Arnie just posted the ad for my beloved truck on Craigslist. Thought you all might get a kick out of it.
Toyota Tacoma Prerunner SR5
This is a rare buy. This single owner vehicle belongs to my obsessive wife who has pampered it for all it’s years. She has religiously changed the oil, maintained it like she might need to live in it someday and kept it hand waxed. She added running boards, an updated tow package, bed liner and fiberglass topper. God forbid anyone might ever even think of lighting up a cigarette or anything else in it. She’s kept the cloth upholstery and dashboard covered, so the interior is as clean as her kitchen. CD and cassette player, but you wouldn’t like her music.
She has reluctantly agreed to part with it so that we can get a larger truck to pull the camper. Call me quick before she changes her mind…………again.
My truck is special. She even has a name: MY PRETTY PONY. When I got her, she was listed as “volcanic red”. So, MY PRETTY PONY was a close winner over RED HOT MAMA. I didn’t think I could live up to the latter over the span of years I intended to drive this vehicle. Also, I knew that my Mother and her friend would be driving to Bingo in it and didn’t want people staring at them driving around in RED HOT MAMA. And you know very well that I’m not alone in my weirdness. You probably have a pet name for your truck or car too.
Back in 2013, Nationwide Insurance conducted a survey and concluded that plenty of drivers name their cars. The insurance agency polled 1,082 U.S. car owners. They found that nearly 25% of U.S. car owners have a special name for their vehicle. More than 31% were inspired by the vehicle’s color and appearance. At 36%, car owners between the ages of 18 and 34 are more likely to nickname their cars. Women are more likely to have a nickname for their cars than men — 27% vs. 17%. An about two of out of four surveyed think of their car as a girl, with women more likely to have a “baby” girl. Witness “Eleanor” from the 2000 film Gone in 60 Seconds or the homicidal Chevrolet named Christine from Christine. Apparently, men are more likely than women to name their car after a famous or historical person or a character in a movie.
I am not sure why on earth this information would be important to an insurance company, but I do understand the need to have a personal relationship with my truck. If you are following along, reading The Wind in the Willows with me, consider the first time that Mole saw Ratty’s boat.
“It was painted blue outside and white within, and was just the size for two animals; and the Mole’s whole heart went out to it at once, even though he did not yet fully understand its uses.”
That’s how I felt when I first laid eyes on my truck .Little did I know that adventures it would transport me to. My truck and I took kayaks to the sea, drums to the circles in the woods and two beloved dog’s ashes to Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to be laid to rest. We ran out for milk or a private cry. She helped me move our belongings from house to house in joy and in sadness. She sped me along as I sang out loud on the way to Key West and the crowd went wild. We explored wild Florida with camping gear piled high in her back.
Like Mole, at first, I did not fully understand its uses. Yes, it has had many uses. This truck and I have history.
The most important use has been the friends, family, places and Chance Encounter that It has taken me to. Thanks Pony. It’s been a great ride.
Arnie and Barb Jaquith 