Day 35

Several months ago, my wife and I (sort of) inherited an old truck from her great uncle. I'd never owned a truck before, so it's been an interesting experience. It's a small truck, but it has done a lot for us since we got it. I've hauled my drums, furniture, yard waste, rocks, and many other things that I could have never transported in my Prius. I got pulled over on one recent trip home from a gig because one of the taillights is busted, so I've been trying to find a replacement for a while. It's easy finding the parts but not so easy finding them "cheap". Yesterday my father-in-law, the family's resident auto expert, was over at our house, so I asked if he could help. His solution: go to the junkyard. So we did.

EZ Pull is a sprawling complex of junk about 45 minutes from my house. On advisement from my father-in-law, I came prepared with a over-the-shoulder carrier for my son and my steel-tipped boots. As we approached the entrance ($2.00 admission!), we were informed that no babies were allowed (18 and older only, ID required). Of course they weren't. Why would they be? There are probably 2 or 3 places in the world more dangerous to a small child than a junkyard. I felt silly for not even considering there would be such a limitation. Thankfully, my father-in-law didn't hesitate to continue inside. My son and I turned around and walked around the slightly less impressive outer grounds. We passed several trailers, industrial dumpsters, and busses before returning to my car for a snack. It was a little difficult removing the harness by myself, but we both survived. My son was quite content sitting in the back seat for close to an hour while we waited to hear news, good or bad. Eventually we got the call- PopPop found a possible match but needed me to do some online research to see if it was a match. While I couldn't say for sure, it seemed like a decent gamble, so he went for it. We walked over the the entrance to wait for him and watch some of the junkyard cats beg for food at the concession truck. PopPop soon emerged with the taillight in tow, paying roughly a quarter of what was asked on eBay.

We stopped for lunch before returning home and installing the new (old) light. While the old one came out pretty easily, some of the hardware didn't match with the body. With a quick drilling, PopPop fixed that problem. Before too long, the broken light was replaced, and all was well. Until I noticed the other light was busted, too. Be seeing you soon, EZ Pull!