50 +50 = 100

Right after Bill retired to the Texas Hill Country and turned 50 years old, he bought himself a brand new Ford Ranger F100 pickup truck. He didn’t buy it off the showroom floor; he ordered it, so he could get everything he wanted on it. It was “Sky View Blue” and white, and it was the first year that trucks had air conditioning. He paid $3,600 + tax (he could tell you how much that was to the penny). It was his “Forever Truck” and it stayed with him for the rest of his life. The year was 1969. That makes Bill’s truck 50 years old this year, 2019. And since Bill bought it when he was 50, that would make him 100. He was born 100 years ago on October 2, 1919, in the oil fields of Burkburnett, Texas. He wrote, “My first year on planet earth was in motion!” His Ford truck helped him maintain that motion as long as he lived. If you wanted to get him riled up, just slam the door of his truck! He would say loudly and sternly: “Don’t SLAM THE DOOR. It closes easy!”

That truck hauled every single rock which went into the house that Bill and Birdie hand-built on their little ranch on Goat Creek. And it rounded up cows. Although it was a working truck and worked hard, Bill took care of it like a luxury sedan and gave it a permanent space in the garage. Every time Bill would drive the truck to town, he would have many offers to buy it and notes left on it, but his answer would always be: “NOT FOR SALE! NOT EVER GOING TO BE FOR SALE!” We are having a party to honor Bill’s truck’s 50th birthday and its proud owner’s 100th. Bill’s truck has now passed on to his daughter, and it’s still NOT FOR SALE! I have a high-quality version of this photo in case you want to feature it on the cover of your magazine!