Granddad's Truck

When my grandfather acquired an old, used Model A truck, it should have made life on the farm a bit easier. And had it not been for the fact any training that Granddad had was behind the wheel of a Model T, it would have been a straight forward improvement. Unfortunately the familiarity with the controls of the Model T and Granddads refusal to adapt to the "new" technology caused more than a few incidents which we can now look back upon with humor. Come to think of it, since no one was seriously injured in any of his mishaps, they were funny even right after they happened.

One of the differences between a Model T and a Model A was that the Model T had only a hand throttle. The Model A retained a hand throttle but additionally had a foot controlled throttle as well. Granddad never got the hang of using the foot throttle and always used just the hand throttle which stayed where you put it, sorta like a precursor to cruise control. Another difference between the T and the A was the transmission. In the T there were only two forward speeds; selected by either having the pedal pushed in (low) or left out (high), The A had three speeds and required moving the gearshift much as you would in any standard shift vehicle. This was too complicated for Granddad's liking so he rarely used anything but second gear and reverse if absolutely necessary.

Granddad's refusal to adapt to the modern conveniences of the Model A combined with the slowing reflexes we all encounter in old age came together in an unfortunate way one bright spring day about sixty years ago. Although it was seldom used, the outhouse was never removed from the farm and provided  a welcome relief station when the newer indoor plumbing failed or was occupied. Granddad was coming back to the house in the Model A from some chore sailing along as he usually did in second gear with hand throttle about half way down. Headed for the outhouse and unable to get on the brake in time, he hit the old outhouse a pretty good shot. The outhouse, having been pretty well built shuddered. The Model A bounced back, still in gear and still at half throttle. The second hit was too much and the outhouse collapsed in a heap. Fortunately no one had been in it at the time. Like I said, his mishaps were funny because no one was actually injured.

The outhouse, the Model A, Granddad are all just memories now. I like to believe that even in silly circumstances like these, we are protected by an all loving God. Granddad survived to have more misadventures with the "modern" truck. I was blessed to witness, dare we say be part of, some of those misadventures. Perhaps one of them will provide inspiration for a future post.

Renewal

As we head into 2017, we do well to glance over our shoulders to see from where we have come. This was made much easier for me because of my son Chris' efforts to convert a bunch of my old slides into digital format. He did so with over a thousand images and has intentions of doing more in the coming year. If the old axiom, "A picture is worth a thousand words" is true, his efforts have provided me with over a million words worth of memories. Don't worry. I won't be using nearly that many words in this post even though the ease with which I can now look back over decades is worth at least that many.

A couple of the photos hiding in that pile were of my grandfather who died over fifty years ago. I posted one of them on facebook and was delighted at the "likes" and comments that were generated. I was reminded of how much we humans want to know about people who may have shaped our lives. The common element in our wanting to know about our ancestors is that although technology has changed, human feelings and recognizing the need to evaluate and make necessary changes has always been with us. Just as we anticipate a New Year in 2017, so did Granddad. He started doing so in the 1800's. I've promised myself to write more about him in some future posts assuming God grants me the time and inspiration to do so.

But in the here and now, you and I must continue with the understanding that the brokenness that is human requires a renewed commitment each year, indeed each day, to be more like Christ in how we live and treat one another. My prayer for you and any who might care is to appreciate that with which you have been blessed and to be generous in giving the first fruits of your efforts to God in keeping with his ordained order. As for Granddad, if Heaven is joyous, he is chopping with his double bit axe or mowing with a scythe without any arthritic pain.