By Lee Scott
I have never lived in an area where there are so many pick up trucks like there are here in the Lowcountry. In most towns, it is normal to see contractors driving around with their company logo printed on the side and materials in the bed of the truck. But here, pick up trucks are everywhere. Part of the reason is because the fishing is so good and we are a tourist destination. Anyone passing one of our many boat launching ramps is familiar with the rows of trucks lined in the parking lots. Then there are trucks towing other things like campers, racing cars or jet skis. Well, we own a pick up truck too. It is a five-year-old F-150 truck that comes in quite handy.
When I was working full time in banking, I would drive it occasionally. It was a challenge climbing down from the cab in a business suit. But now that I have hung up my briefcase, there is something special about getting in the truck. It is much more comfortable to drive now that I can just put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt when I drive it. My persona changes, and I confess to turning on the Country station and singing along with Shane Yellowbird belting out “Me and my pickup truck”.
Recently, I passed another F-150 truck driver on the way into the Convenience Center with my truck bed full. The driver gave me the two finger nod to his baseball cap. I returned the gesture thinking it was an F-150 thing, like the wave Harley Davidson motor cycle drivers give to one another. My husband shook his head and said, “There is no F-150 truck wave, that was our neighbor, Herb.” Oh well.
I do struggle with the fact that my truck has an automatic transmission. What happened to the old stick shifts? Remember Grandpa’s pick up on the old Lassie television series? You wouldn’t find him driving around with an automatic transmission. Anyone that has had to tow something uphill or downhill knows the true value of a standard transmission.
You cannot argue about the overall utility of a pick up truck. I understand why folks in our area own one. But with so many of them looking alike, I decided we needed something distinctive. I ordered one of those stick family decals for the back of the truck. You know that ones where there is a father, mother, five kids, three dogs and a cat. Ours has the man and woman and the two dogs. You can hardly see it because the back window is tinted. But if you look carefully it is there, distinguishing our pick up truck here in the Lowcountry.
