Monday, June 20, 2016

A Sunday Drive and the Full Story

I knew when I got out the door with the dogs first thing yesterday morning that it was going to be a gorgeous day for a drive here in Connecticut. Our immediate area has some beautiful scenery, so it's easy to get some nice views without going far from home. Cruised around locally for an hour or so in the morning, then another short drive in the afternoon before heading in for my usual Sunday afternoon shift at the radio station.


roadside stop on Rt 67


quick photo op at the bridge on Rt 133


The search goes on for the transmission we need for the drive train upgrade, and it's proving to be difficult. We need a 5 speed manual (T-5) from an 80's S10 truck, 2 wheel drive, 6 cylinder, with a mechanical speedometer connection. They can be found on eBay but the prices I'm seeing there so far are beyond my budget, especially when shipping and core charges are factored in. I compiled a list of ten different CT used parts sources yesterday, and will be making calls this week.

In the meantime, I've decided to post the full short story - "John's Old Truck - Living the Dream and Honoring Mom" - on a GoFundMe page, to give readers the additional option of donating any amount they like after reading it. The story has been available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords for several months for $2.99. Of course, this new option means some will read it and donate nothing, but that's okay. Hopefully, everyone who sees it will at least be inclined to share. The goal is simply to get the story in front of as many eyes as possible, thereby increasing the chances of reaching the goal of full restoration and the epic cross country road trip that I've been dreaming about since my teen years. What's also very important to me is the preservation of the truck for many generations to come in our family.

As of this posting, the e-book has only sold a few copies. Not a lot of eyes there. I figured giving it away to some in return for the chance of far greater overall distribution would be a good trade-off. As the old saying goes, gotta give something to get something.

Here are the various links for the full short story:

GoFundMe

Amazon (Kindle)

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords


If you read the story and like it, I really hope you'll share it with friends and family. And as always, please feel free to contact me directly via email anytime if you have any questions.

Thank you! See y'all down the road!


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