Rusty

This month Babs and I have inherited "Rusty", the old blue pick-up truck that Grant drove last year. This truck--nearly 20 years old with a wiring system beyond repair and full all kinds of crotchety old-vehicle quirks--has been in Saipan much longer than Barbara and I have. We've seen it pass through many owners in our time here, and it's funny how the truck was always so strongly identified with whoever happened to own it at the time. You'd see it cruising into the compound in 1998 and you'd think, "Oh, here come's Jeanie Drake." You'd see it parked in front of the school in 1999 and think, "Lois DeWitt must be in her classroom." In 2000 it was the Knowltons. And then Mai Yang, Yeneer Merino, & Jill Sharpe (we always used to start singing "We are Family" everytime we saw them cruise by, the three of them jammed into the cab). There was Florian, and last year Grant Graves, who gave Rusty it's name.





And now, this year, at least for a little while, it's me and Babs. We're driving it while Larene is still here (she shares the Honda CRV--our usual ride--with Virle and Joiey).

Despite the lack of air conditioning and space for all our junk, I kinda like driving Rusty. Rusty's a stick-shift so there's that added sense of control when you drive, and Rusty get's the best gas mileage of any of the school vehicles. We went more than two weeks on a single tank, including a drive or two out to the Mandi and several trips to Capital Hill! And check out the snappy new seats:


We hand the truck over to Virle in about a week and a half, when Larene returns to the Philippines. In the meantime, I'm enjoying roaming the streets of Saipan in this beat-up little missionary pick-up we affectionately call Rusty.