it's so hard to say goodbye - lauren's tribute to 'ole red

it's hard to see, but this is a full length shot of 'ole red

here is a better shot of 'ole red with me and john on the day we moved to charleston

i really was going to refrain from blogging about 'ole red (aka john's '93 ford ranger), but i just can't help myself. i truly loved 'ole red. on saturday, when she finally gave out, john and i kept trying to joke about it for fear of crying if we really thought too hard. seriously, i had tears in my eyes. it may sound crazy, but i don't care. that little red truck (honestly, i always thought it was more pink/burgundy/some other color than red) has been through so much with john and consequently with me since i've been a part of his life for all of the ranger's life. john said 10 yrs in his post, but it's been more like 12, almost 13 yrs. it has been the setting for many fights, lots of kissing, many adventures, many dates (a lot that didn't include me), many college parties, and lots of other things i don't know and don't care to know :) i remember vividly when john brought it over to my house in high school when he first got it. he was so proud and i thought he was very cool. especially since the ford tempo he'd been driving was rusting and peeling paint. we'd look so much cooler in the truck :)

john and a truck just seem to go together. and, the fact that 'ole red was simple fit john perfectly, too. no power windows, locks or power anything for that matter. no fancy radio and definitely not a cd player. in fact, it had a large black button that you pushed in to make the tape come out and it popped out, old school style. i'll always remember climbing over, in and through trash trying to fit myself in the passenger seat. for those of you who know john well, he hasn't always been the neatest of men. much progress has been made in that area over our last 6 yrs of marriage and for the past year and a half, 'ole red stayed mighty clean. i tried and tried the past few years to get john to replace 'ole red's muffler. it literally has been hanging on only by a thread of rust. john didn't see any need for that...he'd just wait until it fell off. also, in the past few years, ole' red began to squeak a lot. you could tell she was stretching out into her sunset years. i could always hear john coming home in our macon and birmingham houses streets away b/c of the squeaking. all of the neighbors got to enjoy the sound, too. caroline would even say last year, " i hear daddy's truck coming, mommy!". actually, caroline loved 'ole red, too. i don't know that she will recognize her daddy in something different. she kept saying on saturday, "daddy's tuck is sick?" with a sad look. 2 years ago, in macon, we thought we were going to lose her. she needed a new transmission and being very poor, we just didn't see how we could keep her going. God stepped in and the auto mechanic had pity on us and found us a great deal on a transmission. we were so happy and our final goodbye to 'old red was again delayed.

in the past, john and i have talked about his dream truck and what all he would want. almost every single time we're on a highway, he'll point and say, there's one. i've even started picking out trucks and asking if that's it. well, i honestly think 'ole red was THE perfect truck for the perfect time in john's life (and mine). no matter how fancy of a truck he gets one day down the road, 'ole red will always remain his first love in the truck world. we'll miss you, 'ole red. thanks so much for all the memories!!!