This isn’t, by any means, an important image. It is, however, a summation of nearly 10 years of my life. My little pickup truck (her name is Ethel) recently crossed the 200,000 mile mark while I was driving to grab some lunch. It was a moment without fanfare, but took me back to some of the more interesting little adventures we’ve shared…crossing mountain ranges and deserts, crowded cities and wide-open plains.
She’s taken me from one coast to the other, across the country and back on more than one occasion. She carried a reporter and me to safety while we outran a West Texas brush fire. She helped me chase an alleged criminal out on bond through crowded streets as his driver tried to elude us. She and I were lost together every time we made a trip to this West Texas monastery (it’s not easy to find a monastery in the middle of nowhere!).
The last several thousand miles haven’t produced any stories quite as memorable — but she and I have a couple of schemes up our sleeves into as-yet-for-us-uncharted territory. And Lord willing, we can blaze new trails for many miles to come.
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