Royrie

22+ years ago my granddaddy purchased a Ford pickup... he used it regularly for a while, then bought a bigger truck to pull he and his wife's RV, so the original sat around.  One day his fabulous granddaughter was 16 and a beginning driver... in all of his wonderfulness, he offered her the truck as long as she was willing to learn to drive it (it's a manual).  She took the offer!
Thus began my journey with this important piece of my life.  Daddy took me up the road to what is now the target/lowe's parking lot, and we learned to drive...

the parking lot that summer... it's grown a little now...

Over time an trips, the truck and I began bonding... we went to school, work, church, and anywhere else together! As I tried to develop her name (I've always known she was a girl, no matter how manly you may think she looks) I had many people suggest "Old Yeller" but that was long, and not very lady like. So an acronym was suggested, is there any name you can make with OY in it?! I came up with ROY... which is also not lady like, but it stands for Rusty Old Yeller (rusty and old are very affectionate terms ;-) ) A good friend of mine suggested I just call her Rorie... the female version of Roy, which made a lot of sense... except for the spelling! Thus you'll find in the title of this blog her name is Royrie :-) [if there's one thing I've learned in my 2 weeks so far in middle school, it's that you can spell a name however you want to spell it!]

So what does all of this have to do with now... well, I told you, I've always known she was a girl, and just like most girls... she is moody.  Sometimes things work out perfect, and sometimes she just doesn't do what I want her to.  For example, this summer I replaced her alternator for the second time in the six years I've had her... and the windshield wipers, well they are the most temperamental! (I might have driven once or twice with my head out the window in the rain because I could see better that way than through the windshield where the wipers wouldn't wipe)
For a while now, her clutch fluid has been leaking, and if you get in too much of a hurry she'll grind going into third gear... things you just get used to and try to avoid!
well week before last she was having a little trouble moving, but her problems progressed rapidly, and she really did not want to roll.  I called Dr. Martin (my Daddy), who has been her primary care physician for most of her life, and he diagnosed her with a dying clutch.  Seems simple... runs a little more than the price of an alternator, I can handle a clutch on a tight budget, but (sometimes you just hate those buts) to get to the clutch you must first remove the transmission!!!!!!!! (even if you don't know much about cars, know this: messing with a transmission gets pricey :-( )
So Friday, August 27th, I drove her back to my apartment from school, and struggled to get her up the driveway... not knowing what to do, I floored it and she climbed slowly... after parking her I realized she was now smoking :-( Thus commenced breakdown number 1... I cried on the phone with Daddy because I thought she was gone for good.  I left her parked for a few days, she cooled down, and I occupied myself with helping some friends yard sale [check out more on the yard sale at their blog by clicking here... and buy a shirt to support their adoption]

her resting place... 

The following Monday (a week ago today) I decided I was going to try to drive again... I needed to be at the Sylvan Learning Center to take a math test [the test went well and I have an interview Wednesday to become a tutor, so say a prayer!]  She cranked beautifully... so I put her in gear... and began to let off the clutch... the clutch is all the way out, the truck has not stalled, and we are not moving :-(  (to all the non mechanics: the clutch was so far gone it did not even allow the motor to recognize there were gears to engage)  I quickly made some phone calls, and got a ride to the test... and a different ride home (which turned into a wonderful catching up lunch)...

I began talking to people at the yardsale about what to do.  A wonderful family from my church let me borrow their extra truck for the weekend, but they needed it Monday to get the AC fixed... so they began conversations with the mechanic... he eventually quoted me a reasonable price, and will begin work on Tuesday!!
Meanwhile:  I was sitting in class on Tuesday, and missed a call from a good friend of mine... I began to chat with her on gmail to make sure everything was ok (I hope my professor doesn't read this ;-) ) and she informed me she finally got a job!!! The transition from her summer job to her 'adult job' allowed her to travel out of town for a week and a half or so.  She was leaving that evening in her boyfriend's car... so she left me hers!!!!!!! I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends and support!!

My truck and her car in my driveway!

On top of her generosity, she was willing to let me drive to North Carolina in her car :-)  This was a trip I'd planned on making before the truck began getting sick!
I desperately needed to get school work done, and the busyness of the week did not allow me to make any progress with the truck.  I wasn't even sure if I should go home (save money on gas, work on school work, spend time with people in Macon).  Friday morning I called Mom, and made a last minute decision to make the trip home! The only thing stopping me was the truck... I needed to get her to the mechanic so he could begin working as soon as possible... a few phone calls later, everything was good to go and the tow truck was on the way.

loading Royrie on the flatbed :-(

Just as I was thinking it would all be ok, the wrecker showed up... and that was one of the hardest things I've ever had to witness... I felt like he was hauling off a part of me!  After he made it out of the driveway... I called Mom and had another meltdown, crying on the phone!
I successfully made the short trip home, and I'm back in Macon preparing for the week ahead.  This will be my last week in the middle school! Its a bittersweet feeling, I don't think I want to work in middle school, but I feel like I've connected with some of the students, so it will be interesting leaving them so soon.
I should get word on the truck tomorrow, and I'm trusting the Lord will provide just as he has so far!!

if he can drive that wrecker up the driveway, anyone should be able to make it up!!
get well soon, Royrie!

I hope you're having a wonderful Labor Day, and I look forward to updating you on how well the truck is doing in the near future :-)