Grandpa's Big Brue Truck

When my grandson, Ryan, was a very little boy, he was smitten with dinosaurs and machines on wheels.  He particularly liked Thomas the Train, and had--at one time--a whole Thomas the Train activity table in his bedroom.

Aside from his father, Ryan's very favorite male was Grandpa Phil.  Grandpa Phil is his paternal grandfather, from whom (among others) he gets his looks and his height.  More often than not, when we were all together, Ryan could be found on Grandpa's lap, looking through books that Grandpa bought for him on their frequent trips to Barnes and Noble.  One really notable evening was the Fourth of July when Ryan was maybe two, sitting on Grandpa's lap in a lawn chair at the local park, watching fireworks.  Over and over again, Ryan would say, "Wow!  That was a big one!"  His childlike awe was so delightful, and Grandpa's patience was monumental.  Special, special moments!

Somewhere along the line when Ryan was very young, Grandpa traded in whatever vehicle he was driving at the moment and bought a navy blue pickup truck.  I don't know brand or model, only that the new vehicle became known to Ryan as "Grandpa's big 'brue' truck".  The truck, along with the rest of us, is aging but it still serves the family, and--to me, at least--will always be known as Grandpa's Big Brue Truck.  It's like a monument to security.  Just as Grandpa has always been.

The big brue truck has helped the family move, several times.  It has stood through the divorce of our children.  It brings sweet corn and home grown tomatoes to me, and carries me to the airport when I'm flying.  It carries furniture to people who need it.  It is a testament to the man who drives it.  When it gives up the ghost, no one will owe it anything.  It has served well and is still in service.

If inanimate objects have a soul, the Big Brue Truck deserves a place in Paradise.  Our grandson will be 18 in November.  He lives far from the big brue truck of his childhood.  Not even sure he remembers all of the treasured moments of watching it pull into their driveway, knowing that "Grandpa and Grandma are here!!  I see their big brue truck!"

Memories can be so special.  Thank you, Grandpa Phil, for the Big Brue Truck.