On this Day...one year ago...

...my precious Trucklette suffered great tragedy.  But rather than me try to remember the details, let me share with you what I wrote that evening.....

We'd never met before, that doe and I, and the abrupt meeting today along Route 2 in the early morning hours is one I'd prefer to never repeat.

Under the cover of darkness and with no one nearby to witness the encounter, she appeared with no warning...and in the next instant she was gone. Tumbling across the blacktop, now littered with flecks of blue paint, a misting of antifreeze, shards of glass, and plastic...some pieces clear, some reflective, but all carelessly wrenched from where they'd proudly held their post as part of my precious Trucklette for over 13 years.

In an instant, separated. Crushed. Homeless. All because a big 'ole doe decided she needed to be in that other section of the woods along the other side of the road.

Was it a predator? Her mate? Her child? What caused this doe to make her move at that instant? I'll never know, but will always wonder, and wish is wasn't so.

And I'll never know if she survived this brief encounter...there was no way I could stop to see to her well-being for I knew an 18-wheeler was barreling down the road not far behind me (with countless "chemical valley" commuters in his wake) and this typical West Virginia country road had no shoulder to speak of and a ditch that would not provide safety for my faithful Trucklette....my friend and companion these past 7 years.

So while we won't know the fate of the Trucklette for a few days, we've come to grips with knowing this might very well have been her last ride.

And what a ride it's been!!
So close, so very close to 300,000 miles in 13 short years.

The tow truck driver seemed surprised at her age and history and was unsure which way the insurance company will rule, but in my heart I knew my little Trucklette would still be up for a cross-country trip...if only that stupid doe would have waited just three seconds later to make her dash across Route 2.

This is the picture I took once I got to work...driving that 

 mile or so with only one headlight and the antifreeze leaking.

After work, we stopped by Custom Images to clean out the Trucklette and talk to the guys.

This picture makes it look like the doors were damaged as well, 

but that's just a reflection of whatever was along that wall.

I took this picture back in 2009 not long after we became a family. 😍  

And other than a slight scuff  on the passenger door, it looks the same today.  

Well, without the awesome Foothills of the Colorado Rockies in the background of course. 🙈

So, now it's been a year.  They did authorize repairs and everything was put back in place...or rather re-placed.  Including a new hood, of course.  Unfortunately, along about April or May the poor thing suffered a bad hailstorm and the brand new hood was completely pockmarked!  Never have I ever owned a car with hail damage until now!  I could barely stand to look at it for months.  Makes me sick seeing all those little (or larger) dents over the entire hood and roof.  😢

But, considering it now has almost 309,000 miles on it, I guess a handful (few hundred) of dents is nothing to worry about.  

Now the more important things are a bit more critical...like ball joints, U-joints, and power steering pumps.  Who says driving isn't an adventure?!