Where did I come from?

Hi my name is Ricky. I'm a Ford Ranger and my full name is Ranger Rick, but my friends just call me Ricky. I'm three years old. My first memory was being on a car lot in Liberty Missouri. I can't remember being born, but the other cars and trucks on the lot said it was most likely a place called Detroit. I've never been back there so I don't really know where that is.

It was an exciting time being on the car lot with all the other new cars and trucks. People would come and look at the many new cars and trucks and then take one home. I wanted to be taken home with someone. Men, Women, and Families would come and take a truck or car home, but I never would get picked. Every day I would make myself look as good as I could for those coming in hopes that they would pick me and take me home with them. Always they would pick a truck or a car that had automatic transmission, I had standard shift, or 4 wheel drive, I had two wheel drive, or bright shiny red, I was blue. As time went on all my car and truck friends were picked, but no picked me. Soon others that came to the car lot after me were picked, but no one wanted me. I began to wonder what was wrong with me. Why didn't anyone pick me? I could haul stuff. I got better gas mileage than a 4 wheel drive. I was bright and shiny too. Why didn't anyone want to pick me? Weeks passed by and then months came and went, but still no one picked me. It was real hard to look bright and shiny everyday and see the people come and not pick me. I had given up hope of ever being picked and taken home.

Then one day a man came down the row I was parked in with a manager of the lot and stopped in front of me. I heard them talking about finding a blue Ford Ranger truck.

Then they looked at me and the manager said, "Yup, that's the one. I'll have it brought up front and get the paper work done to sign it over to the Blair Nebraska dealership."

I was confused. This man didn't look like he was picking me to take home. What was going on. Was I being taken somewhere that trucks go when no one wants them? I started getting scared. One of the young men that moved cars on the lot jumped into my driver seat and started up my engine. He drove me up to the front of the lot where the man from Blair Nebraska was finishing with the transfer papers. My heart pounded as this man took the driver seat and zoomed out of the only place I knew as home. He didn't talk much and twisted the knobs on my radio to a station that had some really awful music. After a few miles, I wondered about the place I was going to. Was it a warm place? Was it a quiet place? Was it a good place? Was it a bad place?

When we left the Liberty car lot, I had a total of 5 miles on my odometer. By the time 100 miles had passed, I began to wonder if we would ever get there. It was such a long ride. I was really starting to get scared. We passed by many towns and finally came to Blair Nebraska. I remember coming up over the last hill and my heart sank as I saw hundreds and hundreds of cars and trucks all parked in row after row in the hills around the town. I knew for sure that this was the place that cars and trucks are taken to when no one wants them. I almost started to cry knowing that I would end up on one of those hills forever.

I ended up in a smaller lot close to the place where people come and take cars and trucks home. I heard other cars and trucks in this lot talking about waiting for some one to come pick them and take them home.

Then one asked me, "Hey, when are going home with some one."

I responsed with a stammer, " I ... I ....I didn't know. I am going home with someone? No one came and looked at me. No one picked me."

"Well, some one did to get you in this lot, Ranger."

I was really scared now. How could anyone pick me and not come see me? What if who ever it was didn't like me when they saw me? What if I would be put up on a hill and never come down. What if .....sniff......I got sent back to Missouri.

Someone came and got me and put me inside. They scrubbed me down and cleaned me inside and out. I heard them say that whoever picked me was coming the next day. I couldn't sleep at all that night trying to keep from being scared. The other cars and trucks tried to make me feel better by saying nice things, but I just kept thinking about how could some one pick me that hasn't even looked at me.

The next day came and I watched people come and go picking up the other cars and trucks to take them home. I began to wonder what about me. Maybe who was coming to pick me up changed their mind and wasn't coming. As the day went by my hopes began to go down. All the others had left and been picked up and more were moving in to get scrubbed and cleaned for the next day. I just knew that no one would pick me. Especially since they didn't even want to come look at me before taking me home. I just knew it wasn't going to happen. I started to cry.

Then I saw a tired old van come down the road and turn into the parking lot. It looked old and worn out and ground to a halt in the place where other cars came when new cars and trucks were picked up. The driver jumped out and ambled across the parking lot. He shook the hand of a salesman and both went in the building where paper work happened.

Could this be the man that picked me? He didn't even give me a glance. He didn't even look my way. It really couldn't be him. I just resolved to the fact that I was doomed to be on a hill for ever.

After a time the two of them came out the door and began walking toward me. I could hardly keep from weeping from the emotion inside me as they came closer and closer.

They came right up close to me and the saleman said, "Well, here it is. What do you think?"

My heart was pounding and my tires were shaking as Old Dave replied, "It's just what I wanted. Thanks for all your effort getting him here."

Him? I'm a him? What's a him?

The salesman smiled and gave Old Dave my key. As Old Dave grabbed the door handle I could just tell that there was something different about this man. He climbed in the cab for the first time and started my motor up. I still couldn't believe I was going home with someone and that someone had picked me.

As we left the parking lot Old Dave began to talk to me and tell me about how I was picked to be a mighty steed that would carry a warrior. I didn't really know what that meant, but it began to make be feel good. Old Dave explained how I was a chosen truck and had a purpose in life. That purpose was to help those people that needed help. He explained that together we would be a team that would be called upon to move things, bring things home from the store for thoses that didn't have a truck. We would be hauling important things, hauling things to far away places, and hauling things that weren't so important just needed to taken to the dump.

These words were strange to me and me start to feel like an important truck. The words were encouraging and soothing. They made me feel secure and a sense of worth began rising up inside of me.

Old Dave continued to tell me about how he had a special place for me to stay which was right under his bedroom inside the very house that he lived in. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Old Dave continually told me how together we would have wonderful adventures and be friends with exciting people.

So that's where I came from and how I found what my purpose in life was.