Last week with a heavy heart I sent my suburban to truck heaven (the junk yard). I didn't want to do it but I had to. After checking my truck out I found that it was losing compression in 3 cylinders, the rings were worn in two cylinders, and my steering column is going bad. They only thing that can fix this a engine rebuild which I can't afford right now.  Plus the price of gas was another deciding factor (a 40 gallon gas tank+10 mpg city/15mpg highway=no money in my pocket). Well I got a few years out of the truck and I went across the country in it. You can't  say that for too many vehicles that are almost 20 years old. 

After the salvage guy picked up the truck I turned in my plates and cancelled my insurance the same day. I brought a book to read and my PSP to the DMV office in downtown brooklyn because I knew I was going to be waiting for a while. Just getting through the infomation line just to get a ticket took an hour. Then I waited another hour and a half to turn my plates in.  After that I cancelled my insurance policy over the phone. I got charged a 69 dollar cancellation fee, but I'm still going to get some $$ in my pocket from the credit left over, so it wasn't that bad. So now it's back to taking the iron horse(the train) and riding my bike.  In the warmer months of the year I ride my bike everywhere any way(on errands and such), so I won't have to deal with all those people on the train and paying $2.00 out of my pocket for every trip. I can ride my bike from Jamaica Queens all the way up to uptown Mahattan with no problems.  The one thing I noticed is that I hardly ever do any shopping in my own neighborhood. Pitkin ave.  is within walking distance but I haven't been there since 2001. I wonder what they did to the place since then. Maybe I'll go there one day. Maybe...

I know that seeing gas below 2 bucks is not going to happen again not ever.  But my next vehicle is going to be another truck, nothing a big as a suburban though. Now I could get a car, but I'm not a car person. It just doesn't fit me. I haven't been in a car since I first learned how to drive. I feel boxed in a car. All of my past trucks were blazers. I simply love 'em. Not to big and not too small. When I go on my long distance trips they are good for sleeping in.  I never sleep over night in a motel when driving, and I never go to rest stops at night. They seem a little bit too abandoned for my taste (even though I have a shotgun under the seat for added protection when I go on these trips). If I have to sleep or rest at night I stop at major gas stations. Well anyway, my next truck is going to be a Blazer. I like the Blazers up to 1999, but I'm mostly into the 80's early 90's models. The main thing is that you have to find one that is in good condition. When I finally get a job, that's the first thing I'm going to do, go on the prowl for another truck (after moving first).

-"I'd rather drive 3 days in my truck then fly for 3 hours in a plane."

Tigoness