I've owned four trucks in my 52 years and each has taught me a valuable life lesson. The first truck I ever owned was also the first new automobile I'd ever owned. Up to that point, I was a used car kind of guy, mainly because I had nothing interesting in my wallet. The truck was a mistake. I paid way too much, even though I had "a friend" at the dealership. The truck door had been damaged in transport and sloppily repaired before I got it. I found this out when I found scratches on the door glass. That blue truck was my first "new car" experience and it was a sour one. And this was before anti-lock brakes were standard on trucks. In the rain, the rear end would fishtail and I would gasp and pray. I learned that "new" isn't always best.

The next truck I owned was a red one that I paid way too little for. It was an underpowered four cylinder, sold to drive up the average fuel economy numbers for the manufacturer. Every time I tried to enter the expressway, I'd pray and floor the gas pedal. That truck taught me that "cheap" is seldom the best answer. At least the truck didn't fishtail in the rain. I don't think it had enough power. The third truck I owned was blue with muscle, anti-lock brakes, and a reasonable price. It was reliable and safe. But it was a very boring truck with a bench seat, and I eventually tired of it and let it go to a worthy cause. That truck taught me that reliable and safe and reasonable might be okay, but they don't bring excitement. That truck couldn't have fishtailed if I'd put butter on the tires and drove it across a Teflon highway. It was too sedate to do anything interesting.
That's three trucks and three strikes since 1983. Now, I have a 2011 truck and I think I've found a winner. It's exciting, safe, powerful, and reasonably priced. It has cushy bucket seats and it even came with a backup camera so I can avoid running over my mailbox. This truck taught me my most valuable lesson: Never Give Up! I just wish we could learn such simple lessons from books. It would be cheaper and no one would have to haul cinder blocks just to keep from fishtailing in the rain.

David McCoy, a notorious storyteller and proud Yellow Jacket, lives in Covington and can be reached at davmccoy@bellsouth.net.