What is it about pickup trucks? I’ve driven one for many years now, and love everything about it (well, maybe not the in-town fuel economy).
I enjoy being a little higher up than everyone else due to the improved vision.
And the versatility – being able to haul recycling, yard waste, furniture, you name it – is awesome.
Getting in and out is a breeze for me too, rather than having to scrunch into a smaller car.
I think the pickup truck addiction is spreading in our office too. We’ve had the good fortune of driving the Hands Off My Ram pickup truck to help the good folks at Chatham Chrysler showcase that sweet 2016 Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4×4. Don’t forget to stop by the dealership to fill out a ballot to enter to win the lease of the truck for a year, or check out our Facebook page between Aug. 15 and 26 for details on how to enter.
As I said, it is a sweet ride. But one that confused me at first. When I first hopped in it, I fired it up and went to put it in gear, only to find no gearshift on the steering column. I drive a 2012 RAM, and that’s where the shifter is on my ride.
OK, how about the centre console, like a friend’s Ram? Nope.
It actually has a dial on the dashboard. Pretty slick.
Darlene at the office has also driven the truck. She really likes it as well, but considering her man also used to drive a Ram, she’s no stranger to pickups.
And then there is our Fatima. She drives a Mustang – low to the ground and sporty. Great car.
But now she’s found a new thrill – driving the Ram. It took some time for that smile to come off her face after spending a Wednesday out and about in that truck.
Perhaps she is a future truck owner. At the very least, I wonder when she’ll ask me if she can borrow my truck for move something or another…
Easily fooled
OK, I remember laughing at the Superman movies of the late 1970s, and the Batman flicks of the early 1980s, where people can’t recognize the hero and link back to their secret identity.
The late Christopher Reeve pulls off his Clark Kent glasses, changes his hair slightly and is suddenly unrecognizable as Superman!
And Michael Keaton dons a mask, some eye makeup and marginally alters his voice, leading no one to connect the dots!
Yep, funny stuff.
Except I’ve come to realize I seem to be an easy person to spoof. Just put on a hat and some sunglasses, and I can be easily stumped.
Recently, at Flight Fest – a great event by the way – I was looking around after taking some photos of the B-25 Mitchell bomber that was on hand, and noticed a gentleman in a blue shirt, ball cap and sunglasses looking my way. I nodded and went on walking.
Turns out it was Brent DeNure, one of the event organizers, and someone I’ve known for well over a decade.
Duh!
Protect yourself from the bright sun, and it seems you can become a stranger to me.
I think back to this year’s Festival of Giving, with its disco theme, and I remember not recognizing tons of folks at the bash. The afro wigs, sideburns, cheesy moustaches and sunglasses were enough to leave me scratching my head. Heck, a friend, Tina, said hello to me in a grocery store parking lot that afternoon after adding a lot of hair spray and applying much more makeup than she usually wears, and I at first didn’t recognize her.
Jeez.
Apparently I’d be a lousy witness for the cops if I ever observed a crime and someone wore a disguise.
Then again, I most certainly recognized Bitter Bill in the latest Captain Positive video. Local reporting icon Ellwood Shreve had me laughing out loud at the third instalment of the “Stay positive, C-K” video series on YouTube.
They are cheesy as cheesy can be, exactly as intended, but deliver the message of the power of positive thinking and positive deeds.
The first one caught me off guard. I laughed at the pure fromage element of the concept – a “superhero” decked out in tights and plastic “wig” — Captain Positive – battling Negative Ned and his Negatrons.
But it really is cute, fun stuff, and points everyone towards Sept. 13, a day of positivity in Chatham-Kent … unless Negative Ned and his gang knock it off the rails.
There is excellent symbolism here, as you can see Captain Positive’s face and identify him (even I could discern who Jason King, the guy who plays the Captain, is if I ran into him on the street), but you can’t see Negative Ned, who’s dressed in black, with a full mask.
That’s the anonymous posters on websites, the people exuding negativity in coffee shops around Chatham-Kent.
They’re the folks who say there’s nothing to do in Chatham-Kent, commenting from their parents’ basement.
Perhaps Pokémon GO has a few of these folks out of the basement and walking our downtowns, noticing there are most certainly plenty of excellent achievements, events and things to do in our municipality.
Are we perfect? Hell, no! But this is not a cesspool by any stretch of the imagination. Plus, we definitely work together to improve on what’s already here.
Criticizing for the sake of hearing one’s voice or thinking one is funny is akin to leaving your dog outside to bark all night. It’s just annoying and accomplishes nothing.
At least offer constructive criticism. If you have a problem with an event, then detail what you disliked and offer realistic ways to improve. And get involved.
That’s how we can all move forward.
