LINDEMAN: Like a Good Neighbor, Cape Charles Is There

Fred’s grandfather?

By BRUCE LINDEMAN
Cape Charles Wave

January 30, 2013

By now most of you who have read my past columns know that I tend to write about what I perceive to be what’s good in this town of ours.

2012 was a year of controversy and angst for many, and I simply don’t want us to lose sight of all the good things that happen throughout the course of the year and the people behind those things.

The old “forest for the trees” adage is alive and well here:  we have to consider the whole if we’re going to pick the nit.

Case in point:

I have an old truck.  It’s not a beauty nor is it anywhere near new.  Fred is a 23-year old Ford F-150 pickup.

I’ve owned Fred for seven or eight years now, I suppose.  I don’t measure my time with Fred in terms of years or miles, but in the quality it adds to our lives.

Why the name Fred?  Before I bought it, I borrowed a friend’s F-150 to help move some furniture.  That truck was affectionately named Lamont by my friend.  It was the same vintage as Fred.

If you remember the TV show Sanford and Son, you’ll get Lamont and Fred.

My son was maybe four at the time, and I plopped him in the seat next to me figuring he’d get a kick out of riding high in a truck.  Little did I know how much so.

Jack rode back and forth with me over the course of two days as we moved loads of furniture to our new house.  The evening I brought Lamont back to my friend, we put the kids to bed and I made a final trip back to my friends’ to retrieve my car.

The next morning, Jack looked outside in the driveway and asked, “Where’s Lamont, Daddy?”  I told him we had only borrowed it and that it wasn’t ours to keep.  His little eyes began to tear up.  He clearly didn’t understand.  My heart broke for him.  So I vowed that I’d find a truck just like Lamont for us to tool around in. [Read more…]

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