I love my 2005 Ford Ranger; it has a lot of history. When I bought it, the CARFAX report says it came from Macon, GA. On several occasions, Its seen beautiful downtown Chicago and St. Louis (yes, even East St. Louis, by mistake), the hills of Carolina, good ol' Statesboro, GA; just about ALL of Indiana, the entire length of Tennessee and rural Kentucky ...not to mention the picturesque small-town of New Buffalo, MI (that's for you Mike and Jake).
It's not much to look at (although it IS paid off), but it's a great truck! It has scratches, dings and dents everywhere. It's gone through several new and used tires ...mostly because I like to go fast, and get that rubber smokin'. But, it takes care of me so I take care of it! Or I should say that Karl, my mechanic, takes care of it!
I'm proud of my truck and where we've been so I like to jazz-up the rear window and bumper with decals and stickers. I'll be a Cubs fan forever, because let’s just face it, anyone naming a baseball field "cellular-anything" is just lame. So, I've got my Cubbies sticker on there! I may be from Indiana but I'm still kind of a redneck so I've got the SC state flag on there too. I'm a bonafide college graduate so my CofC sticker is dead-center. Jane's Addiction is just an awesome band in general and put on one-hell-of-a-show with Nine Inch Nails during the summer of 2009 in Charlotte so they're present.
Also, I'm an avid small-wave surfer so my love for Folly Beach is there. And while they may be just stickers, sometimes, they speak volumes to those who see it.
There's one sticker that's on there that I didn't mention, my OIF Charleston Vet Center one. And yesterday, as I was leaving my fourth PCT session from the VA, I noticed that someone left me a thank-you note under my windshield wiper. The fact that a random stranger did this left such an impression on me. Whoever left it didn't just recognize me, but more importantly, my family. The sacrifices that military families make are so great; they're just as significant as the service members and need be recognized. I recently had the privilege to attend a PTSD meeting last week in which I heard first-hand accounts from civilians who went above and beyond for the family members that they love.
As per the note's instructions, I will be paying this thank-you note forward!
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