As a kid, I probably snarled my nose when I heard an adult say: “Back in the day…” Well, guess what? Now, it’s my turn.
Back in the day, I used to love riding in the bed of a pickup truck. To me it was like an amusement park ride. That being said, my first ride in a truck bed was not so pleasant. I don’t remember how young I was when my parents wanted to have a family fishing trip. Papaw let us drive his farm truck across his fields to get to Bull Run Creek. My dad thought I would enjoy riding in the back, so that’s where he sat me. I really wasn’t sure if I liked that experience or not, but I didn’t say anything. That is until Papaw’s cows started to run toward the truck. That terrified me and I began to cry and bang on the back glass. Are you thinking: “But Brooke, didn’t you see those cows every day?” Yes, I did, but they were always on the other side of the fence. They looked so much bigger and scarier to me as they chased us. My dad had to stop the truck and put in the cab with them. My mom said the cows wouldn’t hurt me and were used to getting hay when they saw Papaw’s truck. I didn’t care and didn’t want to ever ride in the back of the truck again.
So how did I change my mind? Back in the early mid-seventies my parents bought a red Chevrolet truck from Booker’s in Maynardville. The first thing they did was to have a black bed cover put on the truck bed. I remember there many metal snaps that held it in place. One day they unsnapped a corner of it and asked if I wanted to ride down the road and back to our house. Since I could see how excited they were, I climbed in and held onto the side of the truck bed for dear life. As we drove down the road, I placed my face into the wind so that it was blowing my hair back. Oh my. I thought that was the best thing ever. From that point on, I was thrilled when they let me ride in the truck bed. Mom didn’t mind me doing that if we were driving back from school or church. You see, we lived within a half mile of them both, so we were close to home and on back roads. But she didn’t like me riding there when were on the major roads because it was too dangerous. While she was right, my dad was a different story.
When she wasn’t with us, my dad didn’t mind me riding in the truck bed as long as I stayed toward the back and didn’t stand up or move around. Of course, we didn’t ever tell my mom. But there was this one time we went somewhere with one of daddy’s friends. His daughter and I rode in the back. She was not only a few years older than me, but she was way more out-going and brave than I was at the time. While we were in the back of the truck, she would yell and wave at people. Now, it was never anything rude or as Mamaw Jo used to say: “Plain ol’ ugly.” Some people would laugh and wave back. Sometimes they would even toot their horns. I’ll have to say, it was a fun adventure. But my favorite time to ride in the back was at the end of a summer day when the sun was just starting to set. That’s when the breeze would have a gentle coolness to it. Let me tell you, I loved to close my eyes and let that wind hit my face. Actually, that was spiritual to me. It was as if I felt God in it.
“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.” Isaiah 43:18 (KJV)
What if I had told my parents that I wanted to never ride in the back of a truck again? If I had, I would have missed out on not only on a fun adventure, but also the spirituality of that experience. You know, there are times we need to put the past behind us and move forward. If you’re not sure, pray about it and see where the Lord will lead you.
It’s a good thing there wasn’t cell phones or social media back in the day. If somebody had taken our pictures in the truck bed and posted them on social media, my mom wouldn’t have been a happy camper. Talk about dangerous.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.