Demise of my 1985 SR5 Pickup

Today is the 22nd anniversary of the demise of my well-loved 1985 SR5 Pickup. On this day in 2002, we had an unexpected ice storm hit us in the early morning hours. Things were starting to get coated when I woke up and the weather guessers on TV were not optimistic so I hurried breakfast with the intent that I would get into work before it really got worse. I went out to the truck and started it up and sat there getting things organized when I realized that I had forgotten something in the house. It was only about 30 seconds after I was back in the house when we heard a big crash followed by a horn blowing. A large pine near the driveway amassed so much ice that the top half snapped and fell across the cab of the truck.

My first thought was that I'd lost a favorite vehicle, my second thought was "why is my wife slapping me?". She explained that her first thought was that I could have been in it. Reality sank in at that point and I had to sit down.

So here are some pictures of the carnage. The truck was running so when the tree impaled itself on the gear shift the truck started to move forward but got only a few inches before stalling. The gearshift was so deep into the log that it would take King Arthur to remove it.

 

Now THAT is a memorable moment!

Hopefully you're grateful every time it crosses your mind!

 

Obviously, you are destined for bigger things!

 

Everything happens for a reason. That's crazy man!

 

Holy shit! Damn lucky you weren't in there when it happened!

 

Wow, true Final Destination moment.

 

Yep, made it into a piece of bookshelf art.

 

That day just wasn't your day. Nice art work..

 

itll buff out

 

At least you had a good excuse for not going in to work.

Are you 100% sure that your wife wasn't slapping you because you WEREN'T in the truck?

 

Hah! If that were the case, she would have bashed me with a blunt object and dragged me back out into the truck.

 

When I was a kid my neighbor had the same red truck only the graphic was a single gold pattern his brother had the same truck but it was gold with a red graphic.

 

wow that was close ,would have been a horrible way to go . Someone looking over you

 

Yep. In the days before the truck was towed away, I would stand there just staring at it and pondering what could have been.

 

Damnnnnnnn!
Talk about things happening for a reason. Someone or something kept you from getting in that truck!!!!!

 

I was in it to start it up, and would have remained except for the forgotten item I needed to retrieve from the house. I truly believe that I was guided.

Even now, many things run through my mind:

- What if I didn't forget the item?
- What if forgetting the item didn't pop into my head so I would not have gone back to the house.
- What if I just decided that I did not need to retrieve the item.

Life and death are often separated by seconds

 

yep I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Even bad stuff sometimes! I had a bad work injury that nearly killed me, I was out of work for 2 yrs and could no longer do the previous job. But I ended up better off in the end with a much better job and realized how unhappy I was before and how important family and enjoying life really is!

 

What a compelling story with pictures to corroborate what happened. Cheating a horrible fate AND the truck could still (tried to!) move under its power.

 

It’s nice to resurrect this thread a bit. Talk about a conversation piece.