Friday Photo Flashback ~ The Truck…

Remember this picture from last week and I told you I had a story or two about this truck?

Oh that truck! Lineman named him Teddy, for Theodore Rosevelt, “rough ridin’ son of a gun” he would say. I remember driving around with Dwight Yoakum blaring on the radio. I think we wore that tape player out! The truck had a 454 in it and boy did it sound good. He remodeled the inside of the cab with cool switches for the radio, CB, lights, you name it. To say he liked that truck would be an understatement.

This is all of course while we were just dating in college in Bozeman. My friend and roommate, Willow and I had to go pick up some horses in Butte. He said, “Just take my truck”. **Gulp** Take his truck. I guess I should have known by that how much he cared for me already. Because he really, really, liked that truck. Willow and I had a blast on that trip, in spite of one of the horses falling down in the trailer coming down Homestake Pass outside of Butte (he was fine). We talked to truckers the whole time on the CB.

Lineman converted the truck to propane a few years earlier. One night during winter we were driving around when he noticed he was low on gas (propane). Apparently I, yes me, had driven it earlier in the day. Not like you can just go to the corner Town Pump and fill up. We headed toward the place he got fuel….. only to run out of gas several miles away. In winter. He ran all the way there while I sat in Teddy. He ran back carrying a small propane tank. To this day I am NOT allowed to get my tank under a half a tank. Ever. Especially in winter. But I do, don’t tell Lineman.

Not long after that Lineman’s aunt passed away. He said he would take my Ford Ranger and leave me Teddy to get better gas mileage. He also said there was a minor problem with a propane valve and gave me instructions on what to do to start the truck.

Well, I went out one evening to start his truck and I had to keep doing the little trick and it wouldn’t work. I tried it one last time and turned the key. I heard a pop. Not good I thought to myself.

Then I saw a little bit of smoke.

Then I saw more smoke.

They I saw a big ball of flame!

Ahhhhhhhh TEDDY WAS ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran into the dorm, called campus police… and they put me on hold. Seriously. About 5-8 minutes later the fire department showed up…. but it was a huge ball of fire.

I talked to Lineman later that night and he could tell something was wrong. I told him about Teddy and he said he was glad I was okay.

The truck was dragged over to the football stadium and this is what he saw when he returned from his aunts funeral…..

The firemen had taken an axe to the dash and there was no way a college student could come up with the cash to fix it. He sold the truck to a buddy for parts…. it had a brand new transmission in it.

I burned Teddy to a crisp and yet Lineman still married me.

But he gave me a concussion and I still married him. But that’s a whole nother story!