Good by S-10
It was right around Christmas of 2010. I was finishing up some shopping in Bryan, Texas and getting ready to head home. I pulled the Chevy S-10 out of Sam’s Club and was and was just building speed to enter Hwy. Six when the damn thing died. Being a standard I tried a rolling restart but no go. As speed bled off I timed my entrance to the Cinemark parking lot (thank you dead stick landing drills from another lifetime). If it weren’t for the other vehicles on the road and lights in the parking lot I would have been looking for the UFO.
We have always considered our isolation here at HomePlace a great asset. Lack of mobility went a long way toward wreaking our finances. Having to depend on other people for transportation is a losing battle.
Suddenly getting to jobs, getting to meetings, Helene’s substitute teaching assignments, even selling young rabbits at Easter was either difficult or impossible. Few things are more heart breaking than turning down a job because I can’t get to it. Our isolation had become a huge impediment.
We are beating bushes, already black and blue, to raise the needed funds. Not that a new complication was needed but my prostate cancer (under control) has made it necessary to travel back and forth to the doctor frequently. Our son has lent us a truck until our ford’s engine is rebuilt, but the S-10 has resisted all attempts at repair. The two times we got it running it lasted less than twenty four hours before going down again.
So the treacherous Chevy is being sacrificed for the cause. We pulled the fuel tank, hauled it up on the trailer, and then removed the tires. The battery wasn’t powering the windows so in order to exit the vehicle once it was on the trailer the driver’s window was broken out.
Yesterday I took it to the crusher and added the funds received to the tax kitty. This is just one of many paths taken to save the property. Another was a difficult choice, requesting assistance through a fund raising site called Indiegogo. I have been surprised and humbled by the response and generosity of both friends, and people we have never met. I am posting a link to that site here;
It was right around Christmas of 2010. I was finishing up some shopping in Bryan, Texas and getting ready to head home. I pulled the Chevy S-10 out of Sam’s Club and was and was just building speed to enter Hwy. Six when the damn thing died. Being a standard I tried a rolling restart but no go. As speed bled off I timed my entrance to the Cinemark parking lot (thank you dead stick landing drills from another lifetime). If it weren’t for the other vehicles on the road and lights in the parking lot I would have been looking for the UFO.
By eleven that night we determined the truck was not going to be an easy fix and our son came with a trailer to pick the two of us up. That night was the last time the S-10 moved under its own power in almost a year. 2011 was the year of transportation hell. I will spare you details, mostly.
We have always considered our isolation here at HomePlace a great asset. Lack of mobility went a long way toward wreaking our finances. Having to depend on other people for transportation is a losing battle.
Suddenly getting to jobs, getting to meetings, Helene’s substitute teaching assignments, even selling young rabbits at Easter was either difficult or impossible. Few things are more heart breaking than turning down a job because I can’t get to it. Our isolation had become a huge impediment.
Finances got harder and we cut corners, made partial payments and delayed what could be delayed. We made a point of staying up to date on property payments. I will be the first to say getting behind on property taxes is stupid, but went faced with groceries and utilities the delay didn’t seem that bad. We had already worked out a schedule with the taxing entities to get caught up. With only a few years left on the note the bank is latching onto the tax situation for a land grab.
We are beating bushes, already black and blue, to raise the needed funds. Not that a new complication was needed but my prostate cancer (under control) has made it necessary to travel back and forth to the doctor frequently. Our son has lent us a truck until our ford’s engine is rebuilt, but the S-10 has resisted all attempts at repair. The two times we got it running it lasted less than twenty four hours before going down again.
So the treacherous Chevy is being sacrificed for the cause. We pulled the fuel tank, hauled it up on the trailer, and then removed the tires. The battery wasn’t powering the windows so in order to exit the vehicle once it was on the trailer the driver’s window was broken out.
Yesterday I took it to the crusher and added the funds received to the tax kitty. This is just one of many paths taken to save the property. Another was a difficult choice, requesting assistance through a fund raising site called Indiegogo. I have been surprised and humbled by the response and generosity of both friends, and people we have never met. I am posting a link to that site here;
http://www.indiegogo.com/SaveSeniorsFarm?a=1007680
Followers of this Blog have come to know me after a fashion. Other come here from Face Book and are learning who I am. If you have ever listened to anything I have said, please pay attention now.
Followers of this Blog have come to know me after a fashion. Other come here from Face Book and are learning who I am. If you have ever listened to anything I have said, please pay attention now.
I do not want ANYONE to feel obligated to do this.
If this fund raiser strikes a cord with anyone, we would be grateful for whatever you felt like sending. If you would rather not, please don’t.
We will keep you posted.
