Well, I just received news that my truck is officially dead. The insurance guy pronounced her dead at 3:00 pm October 26, 2009. What a great little truck, it was perfect for me. Good gas mileage, just enough room, manual transmission, and of course it allowed me to haul my kayak or tandem around with me to all the great streams in southern Missouri and north Arkansas. All trucks that I have for the rest of my life will be compared to this one. It's kind of unfair, especially for the next one I get. But I want another Ranger. I think they probably are the best American made small truck there is. The s-10 is a good truck as well, my dad had one and beat the hell out of it and it started everyday and took him to where he wanted to go. But I never really liked the look of them, they look to me a little dumpy and depressed. I haven't really looked into newer trucks, mainly because I don't think I can afford them, but I will shop around and see what I can find. A Colorado is an option or maybe a newer ranger. I"m hopeing that there are a lot of deals out there, it seems to me that there might be a surplus of car and trucks out there that dealers are looking at getting rid of.

I asked the insurance company about replacing my waders and my rod that was broken during the crash but apparently my policy doesn't cover personal items that where destroyed in the crash. Oh well, if that all I lose in this then I'll consider my self lucky. The insurance guy said that he was surprised that i was able to walk away from it with nothing more than a bump on the head and a sore shoulder. And I do feel very lucky. I just wished it had happened after I went fishing. It's now been more than a week without catching a fish and the way things are going I'll be lucky if I can in the next couple of weeks.