I ran out of gas today. Well, not me, my mower. So I loaded up the gas cans in the Chick Magnet and headed to town. "The Chick Magnet" is the name of our old farm truck (tri-owned by me w/ two other guys). It's a 1990 Chevy S-10 with tinted windows, alarm system, chromed wheels, honkin' stereo and a bunch of other stuff. It's also got painting peeling off, rust everywhere, some major dents in the bed, and a host of bumper stickers holding the tailgate together ("You can no more win a war than you can an earthquake;" "Genuine VW Parts, Dude;" "I love Old Baldy," and more). You know it's a farm truck because you have know certain tricks about it -- like the keys aren't really necessary most of the time, the doors have to be closed a certain way if you want them to latch, the mud in the wheel wells is from 4 different fields, and stuff like that.As a farm truck, it doesn't get driven all the time. Mostly to haul wood from a field after splitting or running to the hardware store for parts -- that sort of thing.
Anyhoo, I loaded it up and headed to town. When I got out at the gas station, I heard a strange buzzing. Loud. I started filling the gas cans and could still here the buzzing. Joined by a bird chirping at me from somewhere. I looked around the canopy over me for the bird and didn't see it. Then I decided to put some gas in the Chick Magnet. I opened the door covering the gas cap and the source of the buzzing was revealed -- a bunch of angry wasps swarmed out. As did I -- swarmed out of the neighborhood of the gas tank. After most of them dispersed, I went back and saw they had built a next right on top of the gas cap. No wonder they were buzzing -- they'd just taken a five mile trip in a beat up old truck. So I cleared them out, got gas and headed home.
When I got home and shut off the truck, I heard that bird again. Loud. Inside the truck. Remember what I said about shutting the doors just right? Well, somehow a birdie had built a nest inside the truck. Up inside the heater. Which explained why the air conditioning didn't seem to be putting out much air. So I opened the doors and I think the bird flew away whilst I finished mowing.
The oil needs changed in the Chick Magnet -- but I'll tell ya, I'm really a-scared to open the hood! Maybe a bobcat living in there.
I gotta drive that truck more often.
--Brent
5 comments:
Hi Brent!
I'm glad stuff like this happens to other people besides me.
As long as you aren't driving your truck, maybe you'll do a meme for me... (How's that for a segue?)
I just completed my first meme, and I thought that some of the folks who read my blog would enjoy yours... so, Tag, you're It!
See Here for the details.
Thanks!
That's so funny...I wouldn't change the oil either.
You're right, Wendy, about leaving the oil alone. Who knows what may slither up out of the crankcase? I'm afraid to check the air pressure in the tires, too.
And Shawna, I'll try that meme thing as soon as I can figure it out!
Slither?
My husband has two snake/truck stories. In one, a rattlesnake slithered up into the truck through the airvents on the dash, while one of his friends was driving down the road. Caused kind of a sensation.
In the other, a gopher snake that Kevin had caught and tied up in a burlap sack (he sets snakes loose in our barn for rodent control) got out of the sack and promptly started to slither into an air vent, and Kevin thought, "Oh no! It'll die in there, and the truck will stink for months!" So he grabbed a hold of the snake's tail, and held on, and steered the truck off the road one-handed so he could stop and use both hands to get the snake back out...
For Shawna -- "Snakes, why'd it have to be snakes?" Indiana Jones-Bill
Post a Comment