Friday went by like no ones business, no weird incidents, normal day. I am not superstitious but the events of sunday leave me wondering if maybe I should be.
Went to pick up a truck cap for the Beastie and that was a normal enough thing. It was the way the truck started acting up that left me wondering if maybe I should have best stayed in bed. Intermittent misfires, coughing and chugging, then running fine. This kept up off and on. Couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and kept on trucking. Picked up the cap and headed home, 4 miles and then,
nothing.
No running engine, no power, cranks over just fine, no spark. On the side of the road, trying to diagnose the issue, arrange a pick-up through my sister via Cell 'just in case' I am not successful, hoping for a samaritan to give me a jump as my battery is failing from the hazard lights running while I am under the hood tracing wires to insure thats not the issue, etc etc.
Make the arrangements for a pick-up and T-box is on the way. Managed to get someone to help push the truck off the road into a small driveway off the road, so thats a plus. Then the call comes. T-box ran into a spot of trouble himself. Leaves my issue looking pretty damned good to. His truck caught fire midway to where I was at. My rescue has been holed and sunk by good ole Murphey and his crew.
They say no good deed will go unpunished. They say TANSTAAFL (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch). They say many things but this was beyond the pale for a Sunday. OOF!
Well on a good note: That truck cap looks mighty fine on my truck. She almost looks respectable now. LOL! And I don't have to order new NRA stickers for it as the original owner was an NRA guy too. WOOT
Well here it is, Monday evening. The truck is now firmly ensconced in front of the house awaiting me and my tools to finish the diagnosis of the issue ( wiring needs straightened out and I believe the computer was fried due to a short at the firewall I found. Not a big deal as the computer is only about $90 and readily available.) Time consuming and frustrating but not the end of the world, or the life of this truck. She may have 200k on the box but she has always been a runner for me. This is just a little tick in the life of a marvelous peice of machinery.
Obviously I will need a range day after all of this is straightened out. Kinda like a chiropractor or pshychiatrist appointment; My rehabilitation is cheaper though.
One thing I noted from all of this though. We are in a very self centered and paranoid culture now. People see someone on the side of the road and won't stop "cause everyone has a cell phone now" and "we don't know them so I ain't stopping" attitudes. That and you never really know what you are dealing with in this Lawsuit Era. I can attest to that fact and I am not condemming those that didn't stop as I have been on both sides of that fence. Its only very disheartening that we have come so far in this world from the caves and yet our humanity is slipping back to prior times of dog eat dog. One reason I have made it my business to be multi-talented is the facts I have presented here. I found that there really isn't anyone but yourself, and immediate family that you can rely on.(and in some cases not even the last though my family isn't one of those) Unless you are in a military unit where the Esprit de Corps is trained in, and its everyone together or you all fall together; there really isn't anyone in this world you can count of for anything but yourself. Maybe I am becoming more pessimistic in my age but I don't think it would be hard to prove me wrong: Only no one has yet.
I know that there has been a string of this thought line on other blogs I read and I didn't want to add to the mix that has been building but there it is. It tends to be hard to not write about things that hit you in the face on a day to day basis. I am fortunate for now to be 'self employed' as a contractor to the guy I work for. I may not have the income I am used to but I don't have to deal with 'interoffice politics' or any of that other shallow pond water they try to sell as refreshing drinks in the corporate world anymore. (and to be quite honest, haven't the slightest desire to go back to that crap either. Would want to crack skulls over it, and that's not all that conducive to promotions or raises.)
So on that note, remember all, Murphey is a bastard disguised as a well layed out plan. His buddies are there to make sure you don't enjoy your day. And even through it all, something positive is taking place, even if you don't see it for its worth at the time. In my case, I now have an added layer of security for the tools in my truck, it looks good, and I will have found and corrected any of the issues to further make sure I have reliable transportation (at least till she finds something else to break. Those are getting further apart though lol)
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3 comments:
I can sympathize completely. One of my great fears is having a vehicle break down on me out in the middle of the national forest somewhere. On those roads, nobody ever drives by. If they do, they aren't likely to stop and help you in the middle of the deep woods.
My truck is an F250 long bed, extended cab diesel made in 1988. It is old and may not look like much, but it is hands down a great work vehicle.
I think a couple decades of well publicized serial killers was a bigger issue than potential lawsuits. I stop when normal nice looking folks seem to be in trouble off the beaten path. Also I am a guy who drives a car worth less than a decent TV costs and carry a gun so getting robbed isn't a big issue.
Older trucks have more character, and to be honest better engineering in them in my opinion. I don't see to many newer trucks holding up nearly as well as my beater.
I found the problem today while it was raining in spurts. Purchased the parts and will post more later on the whole mess.
Funny that you mention driving a car that costs less than a decent TV costs Ryan. I paid $500 for this truck and have ran the hell out of it for nearly a year. In parts I have less than $200 not including the Cheap donor truck I picked up for more substantial parts(doors, Axles, etc)
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