Saturday, March 15, 2014

FIRE TRUCK!






isn't she a beauty? that's our new fire truck that our friend s found for us. and that's jambaloney in the driver's seat and my brother b in the passenger's seat!

now kids, you all must remember that jambaloney has the driving experience of a 17yr old. and he has never driven a standard. NEVER. and this truck has air brakes.

we went down to the hall this morning for jamie to get training on the truck. our brother b is the only person who can back any of our trucks into our halls - he's a master at all different kinds of fire trucks! and he was going to teach jambaloney.

so we go down and figure that our brother b will drive, with jam in the passenger's seat, and he will explain what he is doing and why. no way jose! our brother b put jam in the driver's seat right off the bat and said "you can do it buddy. you can do it".

when i went out to take the pic i couldn't believe jam was in the driver's seat. he has the driving experience of a 17yr old and has never driven a standard. or used air brakes!!!! but our brother believes in hands-on training and he encouraged jam the whole time. our brother b had jam drive the truck about a kilometer up the road, all the while explaining different stuff, getting him to shift different gears and whatnot, and then when they got to our neighbour r's house, b had jam pull in to their gawd-awful driveway. then b got in the driver's seat to back the truck out.

they came back to the hall...me and s were so super impressed that jam had driven the truck. his nerves were shot - remember he has the driving experience of a 17yr old and HAS NEVER DRIVEN A STANDARD.

we thought we were done for the day. but oh no. b had him back in the truck going the other way this time, took him to our church which has a big parking lot, made him turn in, turn around, back up and then drive back out. then jam drove the truck back to the hall. our brother b made him back into the drive of the hall and said he did a really good job. even though the truck was a little sideways. but our other brother d told me earlier that THE ONLY person who could back our firetrucks into the hall was b. our brother d said he couldn't and neither could our other brother d. only b could do it.

so jam got out of the truck to much acclaim from our friend s who gave him a big hug and told him he did real good. so did everyone else.

but it was because of our brother b's calming attitude and manner of teaching that jam did so well.

do i sound proud? it's because i am. i am really, really proud of bringing that city boy here who had never even driven a vehicle until he was 45 and that was only to get us here. and now he is learning how to drive a big, giant firetruck with air brakes.

ugh. i am getting teary. could be from the onions i was just cutting. could be just because i am so proud of him. i am so freakin proud of him.

( a big thanks to my brother b. he has such a compassionate manner about him, he never looks down on anyone, he never judges, he just encourages. and he made me proud of him, too. and i thank him from the bottom of my heart for making my jamby comfortable enough to try and do this. thank you b)

21 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Mr. Smythe - they certainly can - bahahahah!

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  2. O.k. we get the idea that Jam drives like a 17 year old. But how did you fixate on that particular age? Most 17 years drive very well. What they fail in is knowing their limits, and not having the auto-correction reactions implanted in their lizard brains.

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    1. Russell, buddy - i just kind of picked that age out of thin air. but basically, what i am trying to say is that he never drove ANY vehicle until he was 45!!! then he drove a 30yr old camper van over 1,000 miles to get us here. then he got our ford f150 and the wheel base on that thing is huge! and now after only a few years of driving...and remember, he doesn't drive everyday, we try to keep trips to town to twice a month but prefer every 3 weeks. so his experience level is like a 17yr olds. but he is really getting better - especially now that he's driving a big-*ss fire truck...that is standard and has air brakes! i am pretty proud of him!

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  3. A buddy of mine offered to let me drive an M60 tank once out on the tank trails. He was from the tank battalion at 2nd MarDiv , at Lejeune. But I was chicken. I bet it took courage for J to get in there and try to drive a standard. I am the only one in my family who can drive a standard, which is why I had to trade my marvelous little Jeep Wrangler (standard) in for a giant, behemoth Land Battleship Commander (auto).

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    1. Harry, buddy - i think i would have tried just because that is one awesome tank! but thank you for acknowledging that it took some courage for jam to get in there and just start driving a standard with no previous experience. i have never driven a standard before and i will admit, i am scared to death to drive that truck when it's my turn to learn. but we all have to learn how to drive it because at different times of the year the men and women here are either out lobster fishing, crabbing, logging, etc....so we all have to learn in case a call comes and there are only a few of us available. thanks again, you are a fine gentleman.

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  4. Glad he didn't drive a vehicle with 3 on the tree, he would really be screwed.

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    1. Senior, buddy - is that some kind of crazy navy speak? i have no idea what you mean - bahahahahahah!

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  5. hahahah...All I could think of was the time Jam tried to back down the road and ended you both in a very steep ditch!

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    1. Mamma - when i saw him in the driver's seat of that fire-truck - i thought the same thing - bahahahha!

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  6. Sweet Kymber,

    Ut Oh............
    Don't let Jambaloney start the engine!!!! Just let him think he's driving with the truck in the off position, lol......

    Beautiful truck!!!! The community will have plenty of use for this truck.

    Congratulations!!!!

    Sending love to the both of you.

    Your Friend,
    Sandy

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    1. sweet Sandy - that's what i thought too! just let him to "pretend" drive! but he did a great job and i am so proud! and yes, that is a beautiful truck and now our community feels safer. much love back to you hon. xox

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  7. That is how my husband taught both my boys to drive. I, their mother wanted to kill him, but it worked!!!

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    1. you know what Lisa? i guess it works to just drop them in and get them driving. i would have been like, you, too! bahahahah!

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  8. Should we be worried about his driving?? Or yours??

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    1. Rob, buddy - you should be really, really, really worried about my driving. really worried!

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    2. That's way I live in MN, I feel safer. bahahahaha. Now if you ever learn to fly, were all screwed.....:)

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    3. hey buddy - didn't i ever tell you about the time i flew a Herc C-137 from Alert to Thule, Greenland?!?!?!?!?

      ok, i was on auto pilot but i made all the check calls and told auto pilot what to do - it was awesome!

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    4. Runs screaming down the road saying "That crazy Nova Scoatian is on the lose!!!!!!"

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  9. Indeed, that is a beauty! I remember how fire trucks would elicit admiration from us kids, as those vehicles carry some of the bravest heroes in the world. Congratulations to Jambaloney! That must have been an anxious moment, driving a fire truck for the first time! To think that he did so with little experience in driving in general!

    Shaun Stille

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  10. For the waste segment in the food business, it's a tie between Beauty truck food trucks and cafés. While some providing food trucks are considered eco-accommodating by utilizing corn-based plastic,

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