18/40 - Freedom On Wheels

I had started this plan when two years before it actually happened. I'd started reading the classified ads in the Dallas Morning News and thinking about the truck I wanted to buy when I turned sixteen. I knew that it would let me do even more work with my lawn mowing business and give me some freedom as well.

By the time I turned sixteen, I knew about what I could afford and what kind of trucks I liked. I got my driver's license on my birthday and immediately started calling classified ads and asking my parents to drive me to meet the sellers. I didn't look at too many before I found my truck.

When I first got there, my truck had a camper top on it which was a surprise. It looked more like a suburban than the truck I thought it was. But, after thinking about it, I thought that was a good option for my lawn mowing equipment to be stored inside. I test drove it and decided that I really liked it. We thanked the owner and said we'd let him know. I called back later that night after talking o my parents and asked if he'd take $2900 instead of $3000, real hardcore negotiating. He responded without hesitation or emotion, "no." I told him that that was okay and I still wanted to truck.

We went back and picked it up a day later and the love story between me and my 1985 Chevy Silverado began.

A few things that I remember most about having the freedom that my truck gave me:

Built The Business

To my Mom's credit, leading up to my 16th birthday, she'd given me one day a week to drive me to my lawn mowing and landscaping clients in our family minivan. She'd drop me off and then come back when I was finished with each location and take me to the next one.

Once I had my truck, I was unleashed on building my business, and leveraging the flexibility of being homeschooled gave me to work every day in the morning before starting school after lunch.  I eventually hired my younger brother and he and I could do 5-6 lawn mowing clients a day before I went back out to do landscaping and odd jobs with other clients.  I almost didn't go to college because in my senior year of high school, I was making what most people make their first year out of college.

Helped Everyone

My truck became a community resource for my friends and our church small group. Being able to help people move or haul things became a frequent weekend pastime and something that I took a lot of pride in being in demand to do and the satisfaction of knowing I was jumping in where others couldn't.

Became Great Friends With My Sister

My sister is two years younger than me and by the time I had my truck at the end of my sophomore year, we were doing more and more events together with our friends and peer group. We ended up driving to and from a lot of things and eventually got past the sibling bickering that had been a frequent part of junior high. We were able to tag-team the rest of high school together and it was the start of the great friendship we still have.

Got Into Trouble And No One Knew

You don't have to break curfew to get in trouble. I hardly ever got in trouble growing up. But looking back, there were a lot of things I did that probably would have got me in trouble, but because I had my truck and was conscious of the rules, I never did. Sorry, Mom and Dad if you are reading this.

I Had My Spot On Wheels

I remember hearing a motivational speaker say that "one of the greatest powers any of us can manifest in our lives is to know how to pull ourselves out of a tailspin and get ourselves back on the level." He then encouraged people to make a list of things that were at all times in their control that they could do to process a bad day or rough set of circumstances. Once you know that you have what it takes to get out of a funk whenever you decide it is time to get out of a funk, that is true power.

Taking a drive in my truck was my first true "get out of a funk" spot in my life. I can think back on so many times where I didn't know why I was angry or sad or frustrated for no good reason as I was where I just rolled down the windows (manually- crank crank crank) and turned up the music and drove down a Texas highway until it was time to turn around and get home.

When I eventually had to sell my truck for scrap metal, it was a very sad day. The engine locked up and there was nothing I could do to bring it back. But that truck gave me 6 great years and almost made it to 30 years old. If I get the chance to one day, I'll try and find another 1985 Chevy Silverado to have as my weekend vehicle and bring back the nostalgia of that first moments of freedom.