PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Few weeks ago when I was playing with my dog at a park I chatted with a couple young kids that had on older prerunner like mine. They haven’t done an oil change themselves yet, so they’ve got some familiarization ahead of them. It was fun to chat and encourage them to try to learn to do as much of their own work as possible.

Every subject matter expert once knew nothing; knowledge is power only when shared.

OP, I’m on a similar frequency to yours in that I enjoy chatting up fellow Tacoma owners. Keep doing your thing, just maintain situational awareness and be careful out there.

 

Off-putting? More like it has scared the shit out of me on numerous occasions!

I used to work at a bar; One morning, I showed up before my boss and I was just chilling in the truck in my usual parking spot, listening to the radio. I had my head down because I was looking at my phone, so I didn't see my boss pull into the parking lot and I certainly didn't see her walking towards my truck. My truck was parked next to the fence surrounding the outdoor bar; I forget whether I was parked with the driver's side or passenger side facing the fence, but my boss walked between my truck and the fence, and tapped on the window to get my attention. I about jumped out of my skin and shouted out "Jesus Christ!" My boss was rather taken aback and didn't understand why I'd reacted the way I did until I explained that I didn't like being snuck up on; She hasn't done that since...

 

After a couple of incidents where a coworker or even a passerby scared the shit out of me, I started turning on the backup camera whenever I was sitting in my truck at work (my truck has an aftermarket backup camera that can be switched on without shifting the truck into reverse, though it does come on automatically when the truck is in reverse). One night, one of the bouncers stealthily approached my truck with the intention of sneaking up on me and scaring me; I saw him approaching (even though it was dark out), rolled down the window, and casually said "Oh, hi Jordan"...

Prank ruined!

 

x2 that. I’m getting some bitter old man vibes from this thread . As long as you’re not holding me up for more then a few minutes I’ll talk with anyone who wants to chat about the trucks we enjoy.

 

Are you gonna get front and rear bumpers?

 

@PennSilverTaco Hey Penn,

Sorry it went down like that. This doesn’t have to do with Asperger, but I can relate to how it is when you try to do a friendly thing and get shot down hard. I can also relate to how much more difficult it is for folks with Aspergers, one of my friends has it and it’s super cool to see how much he cares about people, but crazy to see how hard interaction is. Don’t let shit that doesn’t work out get you down or take it personally, and don’t be afraid to mindfully (don’t be intimidating and keep your distance big guy) try chatting women up in the future, but realize that if they don’t really respond, or aren’t smiling to make an exit with a “have a nice day”. If they’re smiling and talking enjoy the friendly conversation, wish them a good day, and if you’re attracted to them and they don’t have a wedding ring on, maybe ask them out for coffee (freaking covid!!) or something nice and simple.

Moral of the story, don’t worry, be happy and pay attention to the smile and eye contact!

 

What he said.....Charlie boy, You might not only lose your front teeth, you might be dodging bullets! We teach our children NOT to talk with strangers! In todays environment, it's probably prudent for a single woman, in any vehicle, to to be wary of anyone approaching them that they don't know or isn't a LEO.

 

I don’t know what youre talking about Bill. Im an angel.

 

Rear bumper’s fine; Don’t know about front...

 

I grew up in and live in the deep south. The culture is different here than in other parts of the country. People are generally friendlier, more outgoing, and less suspicious of others. What goes over well in one part of the country may not fly as well somewhere else. As for me, I'd rather live in the deep south because it is the culture I grew up in and am familiar with. No snubs to my yankee counter parts. You would probably find us irritating about half the time.

 

Nope, not a unicorn.

Just a simple person not wanting and wary of being approached by a total stranger in this day in age.

Kidnapping, Car Jacking, Mugging, Pan Handling, Covid Super Spreader...........

Frankly, I don't blame the woman at all.

I will allow strangers to approach, but they must maintain distance. I also won't engage in idle chatter.


[edit] In a public parking lot you have no right to privacy and can not prevent some random knucklehead taking pictures. You also do not need to engage in a conversation with said knucklehead
[end edit]

 

Car people look like weirdos to non car people

 

Also we are all people. Communication is key and today everyone has excuses for bad comms.

Not everyone is nice so be careful walking around snapping pics. Probably fine if you are driving a taco too when your taking a pic but you really never know how someone's day is going or how they will react to their picture taken.

But yeah.. We're in a place to talk about our trucks, and I like to talk so it would never ever bother me if you snapped pics. I'm also a 34 year old man with a taco myself

 

Nothing personal but this girl didn’t know you and honestly was probably not a Tacoma enthusiast, she was just driving a “car”. She saw you and thought you were a creep. I would expect my wife or daughter to do the same if not more. Here in the great state of TX we carry.

 

While I’m very pro-2A, I don’t think anyone is justified in pulling a gun on someone just for walking up to their window and asking about their vehicle...

In Pennsylvania, we carry too; I’ve been shooting, I got my carry permit, and once I take some training courses I plan on carrying. Pennsylvania is probably one of the easiest states (it’s actually a Commonwealth) in which to both buy a handgun and get a permit to carry said gun in a concealed manner.

 

Not questioning your intentions. It’s the thoughts of the person you’re approaching that’s the concern. As said my wife or daughters wouldn’t talk to you either.

 

I will tell you this story that involved me threatening to pepper spray a guy; One time I was making a left turn into a parking lot where a car show was taking place. The sidewalk was clear, but this guy’s wife was paying attention to her phone instead of her surroundings; She walked directly into the path of my truck as I was turning. He grabbed her by the hood of her sweatshirt and pulled her back, then approached my truck and started getting all belligerent with me. I told him straight up that if he didn’t take a step back from my truck I would pepper spray him (this guy was bigger than me); He dared me to do it and I just drove off. By the time I parked the truck and came back to where the incident had taken place, and the bastard was gone.

Pepper spray is one thing, but once I feel comfortable enough to start carrying a gun, nobody will know I have it; That’s the whole reason for a CONCEALED carry permit, is it not?

As I said before, I am very pro-2A and enjoy shooting, but I never dreamt I would even consider carrying a firearm for defensive purposes.

 

This is another thing I wanted to bring up; One of my coworkers is an Army veteran with PTSD. He was a sniper in the 82nd Airborne and served in Fallujah; He is a very nice guy and I enjoy talking to him. He has his moments where anyone who didn’t know he had PTSD would see his behavior and write him off an asshole, but I cut him slack because he has PTSD.

He also has some crazy and sometimes funny stories about his time in Iraq, and I never get bored listening to him!

 

I don’t understand how making yourself out to be a victim in some random scenario would justify the current case.

 

It doesn’t, and the stories have nothing to do with each other...

I was just telling you a story about the one and only time I ever threatened to pepper spray someone; I fucked in the situation with the chick in the red Tacoma, and I 100% acknowledge that.