November 5 – “The Saga of the Painted Truck”

She’s home.  Finally.  The Saga of the Painted Truck has officially come to a close. 

OK, I know that sounds like it was taken out back and shot in the head, but it really is home.  We got the call that it would be ready to pick at 2:30.  I think that’s his go-to pick up time for everybody.  We pulled up and there was the old 1992 GMC Sierra parked on the street.  But we almost didn’t recognize it.  The paint looks pretty incredible.  The two logos on the tailgate were reversed, and the little word “Truck” that used to be attached to the “GMC” crumbled in his hands when they removed it for the painting, but other than that, all was well. 

As we got closer we noticed the extra addition.  He had talked to me about adding a stripe around each side.  I pictured something a few inches wide or even wider.  You know, a sporty, jazzy look.  Couldn’t figure out why he would recommend something glitzy like that on an old pickup.  As it turned out I was quite pleasantly surprised.  A very small, very subtle stripe had been added on both sides.  Just enough to break up all the blue.  The stripe is black with a second strip of lighter gray or silver in the center.  The gray almost glistens in the sun.  Interesting effect.  Not sure how long that shimmer will last, though. 

They had just completed the bed liner, so the smell was still extremely strong.  He said not to put anything in there for a day or two, to give it plenty of time to completely harden.  His final two recommendations were to replace the outside mirrors and to get an after-market grill for the front.  The chrome is peeling off badly.  Oh, and maybe sometime in the future get some new wheels (Not tires.  Those are pretty new already.  Just new rims).  Apparently he scrubbed them down as much as he could, but they were just stubbornly showing their age.  This whole restoration of a classic vehicle is like buying a fixer-upper house.  But she looks really good. 

1 Chronicles 16:11 says, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”

Father, thank you for fun projects like the truck.  And bless John, the guy who did the painting.  His love for you and for his family is really evident.  Amen.