Lubbock Or Bust...

says Abe. Due to the late hour I'm going to try to keep this long story as short as possible. Just minutes ago Abe left for Lubbock in pursuit of a FREE 1950's era pickup truck from an Old Navy store. In an effort to modernize their image, Old Navy has decided to rid their stores of the trucks they have had on display for the last 14 years. It is up to each individual store how to go about it. Abe caught wind of this last week and began calling around to see if any were available, locally. One manager (in Denton) referred him to the Lubbock store and said she thought it was the last one in TX not already claimed by someone. Abe called Lubbock, the manager said it was still available and he could have it as long as no one else came in to get it first. He said I'll take it, please call me if someone comes by and is interested in it because it may be a few weeks before I can get up there. Ever since that conversation, he has been obsessed (and stressed) thinking about the best possible way to get the truck, knowing full well it would involve tearing down their security system, doorway and quite possibly the truck just to get it out of the store.

Alright, I'm feeling this short story getting longer and longer. I'll try to wrap it up. There was drama along the way because the manager basically promised the truck to someone else the day after she promised it to Abe. She failed to mention that until yesterday when Abe told her he was coming on Sunday to get it. That's when she informed him that someone else was planning to come pick it up Sunday. It took everything in Abe not to a) rip her a new one and b) break down right over the phone because she broke his heart (ok, maybe he wasn't that delicate, but close). After going back and forth with her yesterday and today it became apparent that if he did not show up tomorrow to get that truck, the other guy would come get it on Friday.

So now he and a buddy from work are driving the 6 hours up there (in another buddy's truck) so they can get in the store at 6am when the first employees show up and start disassembling the truck. Abe's Dad is also driving to Lubbock tonight, from Denton to help Abe. They will be renting a U-haul trailer to bring it home and we have to find space in our garage for it. The timing for this couldn't be worse, but I am super excited for Abe and hope it goes smoothly. I REALLY wish I could have gone along to take pictures of the journey but that was SO not an option. He'll be back tomorrow evening so I will take pics of his baby then.

Oh, in case you are wondering why Abe is going through all this trouble? Well he had a '52 Chevy when he was a teenager but someone crashed into him and totalled it. He's wanted one ever since. And in the last few years, Abe has spent much of his free time researching trucks, hot rods, rat rods, you name it and been fantasizing over building one. This truck, even though it doesn't have an engine, is a great starting point.