When our Grand Caravan died, we went without a second vehicle for a few weeks but, while Larry had a compact car for getting to work and which I could use when he was at home, we found ourselves quickly at a loss for all the outdoor maintenance on our one-acre lot. I was itching to buy a truck but Larry was uncertain. When I was out-of-province for a week, he surprised me on my return with a second-hand, black Dodge Dakota, a mid-sized truck that was perfect for me.

I quickly came to love that truck – it was just so darned handy!! Some 3 years later when our youngest son moved across Canada, we gave it a good check-over, handed over the keys, and sent him on his way.

That’s when I got the love of my life, my bright blue Toyota Tacoma. I cannot say enough positive things about it. Just the right size. Just the right colour. Perfect for diving. Perfect for gardening. Perfect for yard maintenance. Perfect for buying furniture or loaning to sons for buying furniture. Perfect for all those crazy, stupid-shaped articles that simply don’t fit in cars. Added bonus? A standard transmission. I said at the time that I would never be without a truck. And I won’t.

The Tacoma is the first vehicle in which we’ve had Bluetooth and will have been the last with a manual transmission. I read recently that it’s one of the last trucks to offer it.

While the inside is usually pretty spotless, the outside is dusty most of the time. It’s always been a “work truck”, for piling with leaves or walnuts or plants or dirt, or travelling on back roads in search of cool dive sites or hikes. On “cleaner” days it may be full of tiles or wood or flooring or furniture. I regularly smile when I pull up beside bigger trucks at city intersections: I feel like a little kid beside them. They gleam – mine does not.

Addendum: I’ve been without my Tacoma for a few months now because we had to trade it in for a big monster – a Ford F150 – because we purchased a big RV trailer and the Tacoma just didn’t have the oomph to pull it. I’m getting used to this big beautiful RED (brightly coloured vehicles are a MUST!) truck, but I know I’d prefer to downsize if we ever find that we don’t need the power.