I picked this book up somewhere. I don’t remember if it was a suburban little library or Goodwill. I bought it because I bought a truck last December. I didn’t pick it up because I felt like it belonged inside the cab of the truck of a guy who owned a truck. I picked it up because I now had room to store a book or two in my modern truck. My previous vehicle was a 25 year old Jeep Wrangler and if you’ve ever owned an (now considered) old Wrangler then you know that there are no creature comforts. Not much room to store much of anything.
I took possession of this book so I could read it when I was waiting. When there was some idle time.
I’m taking better care of this truck than I have any other vehicle that I’ve owned because I loathe buying vehicles and if I never have to buy another one in my lifetime then that would suit me alright.
I’m waiting in the service department at the dealership for an oil change and a 50,000 mile service. I stopped a kid in the parking lot at the grocery store a few months ago as he had an older version of my truck. I knew by looking that the truck had a lot of miles on it. The kid validated my hunch. It had 440,000 miles on it. He said he changes the oil.
I started reading this book while I’m waiting to get my oil changed. I haven’t changed my own oil since synthetic oil became the norm. I looked at purchasing an oil filter myself. My guess is that paying someone else to change my truck’s oil costs about as much as doing it myself unless I buy filters and oil in bulk and don’t mind the time it takes and the hassle of hauling old oil to a place that recycles it.
The book is good. It’s raw and true and funny and takes me back to my childhood and stirs memories of my dad and the things he taught me about hunting, fishing, and frog gigging.
The book was a gift to myself. I’m sitting in a large dealership service department waiting area with nice chairs and a big TV hanging on the wall. There are 10 other people in here with me. Every single one of them has their nose down in a phone. I guess I do too, but I’m telling a story here. I’m reflecting a taking a break between chapters.
It’s a good book about hunting, fishing, learning, relationships with people, animals, and nature, respect, and ethics. It’s heartwarming and funny.
I’ll probably take a year or more to read it. I’m only on chapter 2. When I’m done, I’ll probably give it to my old friend Travis. He’d like this book.
One of my favorite things about a book is how it can make you think of someone. I think if someone gives you a book as a present, that’s one of the best gifts in the world. There’s something in that book that made them think about you and if they didn’t tell you why, then the absolute best feeling is when you get to the part where you find out why.