Introduction
Howdy, y'all! Are you ready? This is a twenty-page short story about cars and trucks in “the significance of the passage of time!” By the way, today is the 77th glorious anniversary of V-J Day. Tomorrow is the first disgraceful anniversary of the American flag lowering at the Kabul Embassy. My 8/16/2021 article wrote about all this last year.
Since the 6/15/2022 article about the June 6, D-Day anniversary, purchase of our 2012 Nissan Sentra, my thoughts have dwelt at times on the twelve vehicles that I, or we, have owned. I searched volumes of photographs, some on film and some digitized, to find car photographs. Serendipitously, I published twelve articles between my 6/15/2022 article and this article today.
This short story lists twelve vehicles so far and places each one in the context of life. The phrase “the significance of the passage of time” is in the title, thanks to Kamala Harris, the first Vice President of the USSA. I hope that she doesn't mind. See the 3/21/2022 GOP War Room YouTube episode, if you need to refresh your memory.
The three segments to this short story are (1) before Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, (2) just before and with Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, and (3) with Mrs. Appalachian Irishman. I hope that y'all enjoy my cars and trucks story in “the significance of the passage of time!”
(1) Before Mrs. Appalachian Irishman
During the Appalachian Irishman's single years, I had three cars. Life stages were after high school graduation, community college graduation, first full-time job, and further college studies.
#1: 1973 Ford Maverick
I graduated high school in 1978. After graduation, I started working part-time as a warehouse supervisor for Schwan’s Home Delivery. The small warehouse was on the property adjacent to the homeplace. I could walk to work. I loaded three or four trucks, two Tony's Pizza trucks, and one or two Schwan's ice cream trucks. I also managed inventory, helped unload late-night supply shipments, cleaned pizza and sandwich ovens, kept the place clean, and washed the trucks. In grade school and high school, I had already earned income by putting up hay, mowing yards, working the ticket booth at the Roxy Theater, and inserting papers at The Rogersville Review.
I enrolled at Walters State Community College (WSCC) in Morristown, Tennessee, in the fall of 1978. I need a car to drive back and forth to WSCC. Dad knew about a 1973 Ford Maverick on a dealer lot in Gate City, Virginia, not far north from Kingsport, Tennessee. Dad had already dickered the $800 price. He agreed to pay $400. I agreed to pay $400. Dad drove me in his truck to check out and test drive the car. That was in the summer of 1978, before I started my first classes at WSCC. Dad and I bought my first car, a 1973 Ford Maverick.
I took the above photograph in January 1979. I wrote the date on the back of the photograph. My first car was parked in the lower driveway at the homeplace. I didn't care for the color, but that was a good first car. It had a three-speed, manual shifter on the floor. I thought I had a hot rod! I took one young lady on a date in my Maverick.
In the spring of 1979, on a morning trip to WSCC on Highway 113, a slow-moving Ford Thunderbird was in front. I had a passing lane. The other car did not indicate a left turn, before I started to pass. The Thunderbird drifted into my right front quarter panel, as I was passing. My Maverick was damaged, but I could still drive it. That was my first wreck. The officer didn't fault the other driver or me. I didn't file charges against the other driver. We each decided to repair our own vehicles.
My 1973 Maverick and I had only a few months together. I didn't have to borrow my parents' car anymore!
#2: 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II
A buddy, with whom I'd graduated high school, drove one of the pizza trucks at the warehouse, where I worked. He had a 1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II. Despite the damage to my Maverick, he wanted to trade to get out of his car payments. I agreed. I took out my first car loan and traded. It didn't take me long to pay off my Cobra II.
I took the two above photographs of my Cobra II in July, 1979. Again, I wrote the dates on the photographs. I had just washed my Cobra II and driven it across the road to the Caney Creek Community Club Park, where I took the photographs. In high school, several of us boys played sandlot football and softball in that park. I used to run laps, about 20 or so, around that park for exercise and training.
I loved my Cobra II! He had a four-speed shifter on the floor and a Cherry Bomb muffler that split to dual exhaust pipes. My car rumbled, not too loudly, when I upshifted or downshifted! My first Cobra II and I had a lot of fun together! We went to and from WSCC. I often carpooled with two or three friends. Those friends rode with us, when it was my turn to drive. My Cobra II got me to gathering locations with friends. I dated three young ladies, not at the same time, taking them on various outings in my Cobra II. I kept my Cobra II well-maintained, washed, and clean. I even washed him in winter, when rinse water would turn to ice!
I graduated from WSCC with an associate's degree just after I had already started my first full-time job at Dodge-Reliance Electric Company in my hometown. I worked from 1 to 9:30 PM as a computer programmer and operator.
The third young lady, whom I dated very seriously, decided that she was no longer interested in me as a potential husband. We were never engaged, but I did give her a promise ring. She went her own way and married another man. The memories of all our dates in my first Cobra II were heartbreaking. I decided to trade. Looking back, I wish that I had kept my first Cobra II.
Dating that young lady, however, did influence my conversion to Christ on June 21, 1981. I thought that I'd been saved as a teenager, but I wasn't.
#3: 1978 Ford Mustang Cobra II
In the latter part of 1982, I found my 1978 Ford Mustang Cobra II at a car dealership in Morristown, Tennessee. I traded even, not counting tax and title.
I think that I took the above photograph in the fall of 1983, just outside my apartment in Cookeville, Tennessee. My second Cobra II was an automatic without a Cherry Bomb muffler. It was a good car for a maturing young man. The black paint, however, was a very sweaty ride in hot weather! Air conditioning was rolling down the windows and opening the rear window vents!
I was still working at Dodge-Reliance Electric Company for a while. I started dating the boss's elder daughter! We went on several dates in my second Cobra II. She and I became and still are good friends. We keep in touch. I don't think that she ever married. I still value the depth of her Christian faith and spirituality.
As far as I know, I was the last office employee to be laid off in the 1982 recession. I had earned enough money and decided to study for a bachelor's degree at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in Johnson City, Tennessee. That fall, my father helped me move into a small apartment that I rented just off campus.
Papaw Wood passed away on March 14, 1983. I've written about Papaw Wood several times. That summer, while living with Mom, Dad, Granny Wood, and my two younger brothers at the homeplace, I remember a voice saying, “You can do more than program computers the rest of your life.” I consider that to have been my call to preach. I preached a few sermons at the Bean Station Church of Christ. I had found my calling.
I worked on a temporary contract for Dodge-Reliance Electric Company in the summer of 1983. That income, plus savings that I had, gave me the opportunity to attend Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville, Tennessee, that fall. I rented a small apartment. On Sundays, I earned income by preaching for a small church in Livingston, Tennessee.
I sat at the feet of several biblical scholars, who taught me well. Unfortunately, three of those scholars were not planning to continue teaching after the 1983-1984 school year. I returned home in the summer of 1984.
(2) Just Before & With Mrs. Appalachian Irishman
This section includes two cars in “the significance of the passage of time.” I met Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, graduated college, and started preaching full time. Early mission work started.
#4: 1978 Toyota Corolla
In late 1983, I traded my 1978 Cobra II for a 1978 Toyota Corolla. I was still attending my only year at Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville, Tennessee.
My 1978 Cobra II, apparently, was “too flashy” for a “preacher boy,” according to some wagging tongues, who bellowed their opinions. Feeling the negative peer pressure, I traded almost even. I had to make one or two payments after the trade.
To this day, I regret that I didn't stand up to the negative peer pressure from the wagging tongues! Only another short year or so went by until I formulated my current attitude: I speak my mind. If I'm wrong, I will apologize. If I am right, I will stand my ground. Don't try to intimidate or pressure me! I will not back down, when I know that I am right! I have lived and learned to stand solidly when right and to laugh at “negative peer pressure!” It's the stubborn Irish spirit in me!
I couldn't find any photographs that I took of my 1978 Corolla, but it looked like the above image. It was black and had a four-speed, manual transmission on the floor. It was a good car, not as flashy. Before leaving Cookeville, I took a young lady out on a blind date in that car. She was interested in me. I wasn't attracted to her.
The Church of Christ in my hometown was between full-time preachers. I earned income by preaching for them in the summer of 1984. That's when I met Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and her family! Her paternal grandfather had passed away. The family came up from Etowah, Tennessee, for the visitation and funeral. I met my future wife during the Saturday evening funeral visitation.
I have joked for decades, at youth gatherings, church youth camps, and in general, by asking, “How do you find a wife?” Various answers come forth. “No, not at school, church, youth rallies, sporting events, and so on. Find your wife at a funeral home! Just check her pulse first!” In various settings, that joke introduced a sermon, devotional, or conversation about dating and marriage.
In the fall of 1984, I was transferring as a senior, and my future wife was returning as a senior, to Freed-Hardeman College (FHU, now a university), in Henderson, Tennessee (near Jackson, in west Tennessee). We had our first of several dates in my 1978 Corolla. That car got us to and from FHU, in west Tennessee, several times.
I was a “poor preacher boy” and college student. Some churches in the East Tennessee area had given me monetary support to attend FHU. I took out a student loan, which I paid off in time. I also earned a little income by preaching for a small church near FHU.
My future wife graduated in the spring of 1985. I proposed to her earlier that spring, and she agreed. I had to return to FHU in the fall of 1985 to graduate in December.
In the summer of 1985, I earned income by preaching for the Mount Olivet Church of Christ in Greene County, Tennessee. I enjoyed the rural location, not far from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The folks had good, old-fashioned, Appalachian values, based on the Bible. I was accustomed to driving on narrow, curvy roads.
One morning, I was driving east on a narrow road that curved sharply at a one-lane bridge that crossed a creek. As always, I slowed to a crawl and looked as carefully as I could to see if a vehicle was coming the other way. The driver of the dump truck had done the same. We saw each other at about the same time but too late. Trees and brush hindered our views. We almost missed each other. My left front bumper caught his left back tire. The dump truck was not damaged. The bumper damage to my car was minor, but the slow-speed impact warped the frame. The cost to realign the frame was almost more than my car was worth.
#5: 1984 Chevy Chevette
I was still in Greene County for the summer of 1985. I stayed at my parents' house from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. I stayed alone in the church parsonage from Saturday evening to Friday afternoon. One weekend, I saw my 1984 Chevy Chevette at a dealership in my hometown. I had saved enough to pay the full amount. The trade-in of my damaged 1978 Corolla helped.
My Chevette got me to and from FHU for my final semester. I graduated in December 1985, in the cold and snow, while sickly. I had to take more than the usual full-time schedule of classes to graduate in December. I had about worn myself out.
Shortly after graduation, I “tried out” for the full-time preaching position at the Charleston Church of Christ in Charleston, Missouri. They wanted a married man with full-time preaching experience. They settled for me, even if my lingering illness caused me to throw up on a wall in the Palmer's home! Don't worry! I recovered quickly. The Palmers and their clan became family!
From my parents' house in January 1986, I drove a rental moving van with my Chevette on the trailer behind to Charleston. Mom was sad, as she watched me drive away. She realized that I would visit often but never live at home anymore. I learned a lot quickly in my first full-time preaching role. A special family group in that church became family to me, to this day, even though some have already gone to their everlasting home.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I were married on Friday evening, May 16, 1986, at her hometown church in Etowah, Tennessee. Before we married and went on our honeymoon to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I arranged to have air conditioning installed on my Chevette. That was the first time that I had an air-conditioned car!
I took the above photograph of my Chevette in February 1993 at our home in Dexter, Missouri. I have other photographs. At first, my Chevette was our only car, while we lived in Charleston, Missouri.
In 1987, my wife and I experienced mission work for the first time for two weeks in Santa Cruz, Jamaica. Bob Barker was on our flight to Jamaica. I'd never flown before. I found film photographs from that trip. I may include them in a future short story. We went with a good group. One couple and their children became missionaries in Sosnogorsk in the Komi Republic of northern Russia. They were there during our five years in Moscow and Klin, Russia. We visited them, and they visited us.
In 1989 and 1991, I went on two mission trips to the East Godavari District in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Each trip was for a month or a little more. Both trips were in and around the cities of Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Peddapuram, and others, including several tribal areas. In 1989, I traveled with a man, who had made a trip the previous year. In 1991, I went alone, just after Granny Wood passed away on 8/12/1991, 31 years ago now. I've written about Granny Wood several times. I found several film photographs of my trips to India, which I may include in a future short story.
The Charleston Church of Christ agreed that I could begin graduate studies at Harding School of Theology, in Memphis. The one-way drive was about 2.5 hours. I drove back and forth one day a week, sometimes staying overnight in a dorm room. My Chevette was reliable transportation.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman had started teaching, so we needed a second car. She was teaching kindergarten at a Christian school in Sikeston, Missouri. Later, she enrolled and earned her teaching degree at Southeast State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
I gave my 1984 Chevy Chevette to my youngest brother in 1994, before my wife and I moved to Russia.
(3) With Mrs. Appalachian Irishman
This final section includes seven vehicles in “the significance of the passage of time.” My wife and I journeyed from Charleston to nearby Dexter, Missouri, to Russia, and then back to Tennessee.
This section contains many memories. I have written many articles about this section of life. My inaugural article was on 3/6/2006. Our journey into the undiscovered country continues, day by day.
#6: 1986 Ford Tempo
About 1987 or 1988, when we still lived in Charleston, Missouri, we bought a second car for my wife to drive mostly and for visits to family in Tennessee. We bought our 1986 white Ford Tempo at a dealership in Dexter, Missouri. The car had fancy gadgets like power windows and such! I was amazed!
I couldn't find a photograph of our Tempo, so I used the free image above. In the spring of 1991, my wife, with my begrudged blessing, drove alone to FHU to attend an annual “Makin' Music” event. It was a weekend trip that included her trip from Henderson to Nashville to visit her youngest sister. I had to stay home to preach and minister. I had a premonition that something bad might happen. It did.
While on an interstate near Nashville, a red vehicle swerved into our Tempo. Our car hit a guardrail. My wife had relatively minor injuries, which required recovery at home. Our niece, the daughter of my wife's younger sister, was with her. She was not injured. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was treated and released from an emergency room. My Chevette took me to get my wife and bring her back to Charleston. The red vehicle was a hit and run, never to be found. The vehicle was red, since our white Tempo had red paint streaks on the left front quarter panel. Our automobile insurance paid for the value of our totaled Tempo.
#7: 1988 Nissan Stanza
Later in 1991, just after that wreck, we acquired our 1988 Nissan Stanza from a dealership in Cape Girardeau! I nicknamed our Stanza “Baby.” She was a fine car! She had a five-speed, manual transmission on the floor and a retractable sunroof! I loved that car!
I took the above photograph probably in January 1996. In September 1992, we moved the short distance from Charleston to Dexter, Missouri. I became the associate minister for the much larger church. About 385 attended at the time. My role involved preaching often, teaching the high school youth classes, starting and leading a youth ministry, and preparing for mission work in Russia. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman worked as a substitute teacher. Yes, we were very busy!
We moved from Dexter to Moscow, Russia, on 10/1/1994, joining two other families already there. The Dexter Church of Christ was our “sponsoring” church. I raised additional support from 15 other churches in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi, and from one corporate trust fund in Texas. I have many film photographs from our five years of mission work in Russia. I could write an entire book, with photographs included, about our work there. I may do so eventually.
Each Christmas, except 1994, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I had a four-to-six-week furlough in the States. We got new Russian visas, visited with family and friends, and reported to supporting congregations in five states. Further, we visited FHU to recruit future missionaries. Our Stanza got us where we needed to travel, very faithfully!
While we were in Russia, our Stanza rested in the full basement (garage included) at the homeplace. My youngest brother would take her out about once a week for a drive to keep her limber.
The January 1996 photograph (above) is not the most beautiful image of our Stanza! We were staying during a furlough with our Palmer family in Charleston, Missouri. The area had experienced snow and ice. Our Stanza was tough! She took it!
We moved back to Tennessee from Russia on 9/30/1999. Mom became ill unexpectedly on 12/28/1999. As of this entry, the “Topic Sections” column of this website includes nineteen articles about "Light at the End of the Tunnel." The first article in the section is “Happy Birthday, Mom,” published on 11/24/2009. I would not change one word today. Our Stanza took us to and from the hospitals during my mother's 110 days in two Kingsport hospitals. I've written several articles about my parents.
We kept our Stanza in the garage of our current home in “Corrytonvegas” for some time. We had bought our 2000 Camry (#9, below). Eventually, we gave our Stanza to one of my first cousins. We didn't drive our Stanza often, after the air conditioning system went out, and she began to suffer from lack of driving. The exterior and interior of our Stanza were in mint condition, when we gave her to my cousin. Her mechanical parts, however, were deteriorating.
#8: 1995 Nissan Hardbody Pickup
In August 2000, when my mother was recovering at home, I started a job that lasted five years at DeRoyal Industries. I was a second-shift computer operator and help desk agent. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman had worked briefly at the nearby mall, within walking distance, downhill and uphill, from our little Knoxville apartment. She was starting her current job as a teacher (vice principal and teacher now). We needed a second vehicle. Our Stanza couldn't take us both to and from work on the same day!
On March 22, 2001, we bought our (my) 1995 Nissan pickup! He had 83,978 miles on him. We paid in full in cash. I nicknamed him “Brother.” His first owner was a local professor at the University of Tennessee, as I was told. He had a five-speed, manual transmission on the floor. I loved my ol' truck! I have a number of photographs of my ol' truck in articles, which I could count and cross-reference, on this website. Aside from usual wear maintenance, my ol' truck kept on running like a top! I never had to replace the muffler, transmission, exhaust system, or engine.
My 1995 Nissan truck and I, with Mrs. Appalachian Irishman many times, had many adventures. They involved the good, bad, and ugly in life. He took me to many of my hikes on House Mountain.
From September 2005 until March 29, 2016, the day that lives in infamy, my ol' truck was instrumental as I bounced from job to job: DeRoyal, life and health insurance sales, salaried jobs at two non-profit provider agencies, insurance sales again, and finally to the State of Tennessee job. I retired from my state job on Friday, May 13, 2022, three months ago.
I took the above photograph of my (our) 1995 Nissan pickup on 3/5/2016. He helped me clear and haul brush at the homeplace. We had a lot of fun together that day!
On 3/26/2016, I filled up my ol' truck for the last time, unknown to me at that moment. He had 319,759.3 miles on him at the fill-up. My ol' truck and I traveled over 235,781 miles together!
On Tuesday, March 29, 2016, my 1995 Nissan pickup died, saving my life. The eighteen-year-old, uninsured female, who had nothing and did nothing for a living, failed to yield to my right of way. The impact killed my ol' truck. It almost killed me. If interested, you may begin reading the topic section “My Bionic Life - since 3/29/2016,” starting with the article I’M STILL ALIVE – WHY? (published 8/26/2016). It's old news. My life has moved on.
#9: 2000 Toyota Camry
On June 7, 2003, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I moved from our little “Knoxvegas” apartment into our newly constructed and current home in “Corrytonvegas.” I was still working at DeRoyal. She was still teaching.
In August 2003, we had arranged a week's vacation at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The complete air conditioning system on our 1988 Nissan Stanza had gone out. A supposedly reputable repair shop, which I've never used again, replaced the system. The replacement did not work. Some but not all of the money we paid was reimbursed to us.
On my birthday, in July 2003, we bought on the “airport motor mile” our 2000 Toyota Camry. It took us to the beach the next month! We paid just over half the cost up front and financed the balance until our final payment on 6/19/2006. Our Camry was my wife's car mostly. I drove it several times. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman loved that car!
I took the above photograph on 10/28/2007. We were at Clingman's Dome (supposedly to be renamed Kuwahi; see my 7/14/2022 article). That was during one of our weekend vacations in the Gatlinburg area.
On January 25, 2008, Dad joined Mom at their heavenly home. I've written several articles about my parents.
Life rolled on, “such as it was” at the time, until the 4/6/2011 “Camry crunch.” I thought about including one of the photographs that I took after the crunch, but I decided not to do so.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman had been on her way home from a nearby store. At a crossroads, which we pass often, an insured driver failed to yield to my wife's right of way, hitting our Camry on the left front quarter panel. Airbags deployed and saved my wife from severe injury. She had only minor injuries that healed well. Our Camry was a total loss, since the airbags deployed.
#10: 2008 Honda Civic
The three-day car search concluded on 4/9/2011, the birthday anniversary of one of my brothers. We paid cash for our 2008 Honda Civic! The insurance company for the at-fault driver paid a proper value for our Camry. That helped us pay for our Civic. The salesman took the photograph below after the sale was completed!
By the way, the salesman misspelled “GEERD.” It should be GERD, for Git-ER-Dun, not for gastroesophageal reflux disease!
Our Civic took us to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in August 2011. One of my two August 2011 articles includes 20 photographs that I took at the beach.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman continued her job as a vice principal and teacher. On 4/16/2012, I jumped to my last job with the State of Tennessee, from which I have now retired!
I published 284 articles from August 2011 until this article. The “Website Archive” section lists articles by year and month. I have the hard copies of articles saved digitally in three locations. Those articles include many “life, such as it was,” stories.
My mother-in-law passed heavenward on 4/30/2017. The only article that I published in 2017 was on 6/14/2017. I mentioned my mother-in-law's passing.
Our (my wife's) Civic had 24,321 miles at the 4/9/2011 purchase date. On 6/6/2022 (D-Day anniversary), our Civic had 163,514.1 miles on the odometer. We had our Civic for eleven years and 58 days. We, mostly my wife, added 139,193 miles.
The mechanical parts of our Civic were in great condition, even until the air conditioning system went out in April of this year. After a few years, however, the cosmetic deterioration started and became more apparent. My 2006 Nissan Frontier, with higher mileage, looks much better cosmetically and runs great with a working air conditioner. Honda needs to make cars that hold up cosmetically. Maybe they do now. Our Civic was a reliable car, despite not looking very pretty after a few years!
#11: 2006 Nissan Frontier
I took the above photograph on 12/7/2016, Pearl Harbor Day, at the homeplace. The same photograph is included in my 12/8/2016 article.
On Friday, 11/25/2016, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I finalized the deal at a west Knoxville dealership to get my (our) 2006 Nissan Frontier! The article Four Stages, So Far, of My “Bionic” Journey: 3-29-2016 to 3-29-2021 (published 3-29-2021) encapsulated at the five-year mark my ongoing “bionic” journey. I won't dwell on the details here.
I had hoped to find a new, ol' truck with a manual transmission and windows that roll down or up manually, like my old, ol' truck had. My new ol' truck couldn't help that he came with an automatic transmission and power windows. Trucks, for some unknown reason, are as fancy as cars nowadays.
My 2006 Frontier had 140,193 miles on him at purchase. He had one owner before us. Our automobile insurance paid a good price for my 1995 Nissan pickup that died, saving my life. I dickered and got my price, except I had to add an extra $250. I'll never know why the dealership needed the extra $250. We paid for my new ol' truck in cash. My new ol' truck's name is “Brother II” or shortened to “Brother.”
Yesterday, my new ol' truck had 185,881.4 miles at fill-up. He often rests in the “barn” (garage), since I am retired now. New Brother and I, sometimes with Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, have had several adventures. He's in several articles, especially about hiking. He loves to have his photograph taken! He's a good, new, ol' truck! He has a sense of humor and the same spirit as my 1995 Nissan pickup. Ask him how he locks his doors at times on his own! He won't tell me.
#12: 2012 Nissan Sentra
I've already mentioned that the air conditioning system on our 2008 Honda Civic went out in April of this year. The repair cost would have been almost as much as the value of our Civic. So, the “2022 Car Hunt Saga,” as I call it, ended on Monday, 6/6/2022, the anniversary of D-Day. We're trying to keep enough money to pay off our mortgage soon. Thus, we had to select an older vehicle that cost less. We got our price and paid in cash. This was the best car purchase experience that I, or we, have had so far!
The outstanding salesman at Lance Cunningham Ford in Knoxville took the above photograph after the sale, which included the trade-in of our Civic. Our new ol' car, the white Nissan Sentra, is beside our old 2008 Honda Civic. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is standing beside a fit and young old man. I don't know who the man is. Y'all figure it out! The photograph is also in my 6/15/2022 article.
On 6/4/2022, when we test drove our 2012 Sentra, she had 107,429 miles on her. She'd had four previous owners, who each took proper care of her. She started in New York State and then came to the Knoxville area. Our new ol' car, being a Nissan, is and will be reliable. She wanted us to call her either “Blondie” or “Baby.” I think that she prefers “Baby,” in memory of our 1988 Nissan Stanza.
On 6/12/2022, I took the above photograph of our 2012 Sentra, when Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I visited my youngest brother and his family in my home county. This was our first “road trip” in our new-to-us car!
The eldest daughter of my brother and his wife turned 16 that day. The Fearghail clan had a good moment in time! That's my brother's Nissan Frontier in the driveway. I know that you were wondering! Their other vehicle is in the garage. Do you see Mrs. Appalachian Irishman in our car playing on her semi-intelligent phone? I keep warning her about “tech. neck!” Hold your phone up, dear! Doc. Art, our chiropractor, has told you!
Conclusion
A few days ago, when I started writing this article, I didn't realize that it would become a twenty-page short story! Twenty pages are based on the hard copy document. Forty-four years have passed from 1978 until now. Life, such as it has been, has unfolded to this stage.
What is the undiscovered country that awaits? Temporally, only the Good Lord knows. I know the everlasting “undiscovered country” that awaits! I see it by the eyes of faith. Do you? If not, please use my “Contact Form” to reach me! You too can see the Light!
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