3 Months, 19 Days, 1 Hour & 14 Minutes

With December beginning at midnight tonight, I figured it would a good time to launch the official “John's Old Truck Countdown to Spring 2012.” Each weekly post between now and then will begin with the number of days left until the cover comes off the truck. Of course this is New England, which means March 20th, 2012 could be a sunny 65 degree day, or could see us buried under a foot of snow. Hopefully Mother Nature will smile on us, especially given the brutal weather year we've had in 2011, and we won't have to delay the unveiling.

So how brutal was the weather here this year? Well, we kicked it off in grand style in January with more snow than I can ever remember seeing in any full winter in my lifetime, most of which came in less than a single month. I seriously thought it would be July before the last of it melted away. Thankfully, that prediction didn't come to pass.

In early June, what was later confirmed to be a tornado came right between our house and our next door neighbors, taking down the 30 foot tree at the edge of our yard and two 50-plus foot trees directly across the street, roots and all, like they were match sticks. The path of destruction was very easy to see as we looked back through the woods toward the houses behind us, then on across the street, with all the downed trees falling in the same direction. The root ball of one of the larger trees directly across from us was taller than the ranch house it just missed when it fell. Yet again, in the space of a few short months, it was one of the craziest weather events I have ever witnessed.

As I recall, it wasn't a horrible day. Maybe a little cloudy. Then seemingly out of nowhere it got very dark and windy very fast. I remember thinking “Could this be a… Nah, tornadoes don't happen here.” Meg's daughter Catherine and I, who were the only ones home, really should have been in the basement at this point. But all either of us could do was look outside and wonder what the heck was happening. As I was looking out the door at the driveway side of the house, hoping the truck would not be hit, I heard that 30 foot tree on the other side coming down. A little scary to think about, actually. In the end we were extremely lucky. No damage to the house or any of our vehicles, and Meg made it home safely (after navigating a maze of detours) with our friend Lynne, from a couple of towns away where they were giving an estimate for their summer gardening business. Our power was out for about three and a half days, but that was minor compared to the damage suffered by many other people in our area.

Then came Hurricane Irene at the end of August. It might have officially only been a tropical storm when it hit us, but that was little consolation to all those on the Connecticut coast who took the full force of the storm, suffering unbelievable damage. Most of the state was left without power. We were out for a little less than two days, but again very lucky compared to many who were out for a week or more.

Finally (hopefully – we still have to go through December), two days before Halloween, a freak snow storm blew in and buried us under nearly a foot of very wet, heavy snow. Some areas north of us got more. And with many leaves having not yet fallen, that meant a LOT more trees coming down and yet another extended power outage for much of the state, with most school systems shutting down for a full week. At one point I joked to Meg, who's a school teacher, that I hoped she was enjoying her April vacation. Somehow she was able to refrain from throwing anything at me.

Unprecedented January snow, a June tornado, an August hurricane and a Halloween Nor' Easter. I guess the locusts missed the memo or we probably would have seen them too. Rough year for sure. But we made it through, thankful for our good fortune and hoping for the best for all those who were hit far worse. Here's to Mother Nature giving us all a big break in 2012!

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Rest in Peace, Mr. George

George Russell was one of the good ones. In addition to being a friend and neighbor for many years, he was a licensed plumber who came to our rescue more times than I can count. Whether it was no heat upstairs, a malfunctioning toilet downstairs or some other plumbing related problem, he never failed to come up with the fix we needed, and always showed up with a big smile and a genuine "Hey how ya doin'?" And kind soul that he was, he always refused to charge us for labor.

I'm not sure how calling him "Mr. George" got started, but I'm thinking it was probably when Meg's girls were little, before I came on the scene here in New Milford.

The last time he stopped by was maybe six weeks ago. For the umpteenth time he fixed our minor issue and we chatted for a few minutes. As he was leaving he said "Hey, how's this old truck doin'? I see ya out here workin' on it all the time." Indeed, there were many waves between us as he passed by in that big blue van of his.

George died at his home on Sunday November 20th, 2011. He was 68.

Rest in peace, Mr. George. We're richer for having known you, and we'll miss you very much.

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Hibernation Time

The fuel stabilizer has been poured into the gas tank, the repaired cover is back on the truck, and Johnny will now count the days until Spring 2012. Tried to fire it up one more time before the cover went on, but the battery had apparently been done in by the freezing temperatures we've had over the last couple of nights. She cranked very slowly a few times and quit, as if to say "Um, yeah. Don't think so. Thanks for that fresh antifreeze. See ya around April."

I really wanted to have it rolling before this happened, but just couldn't come up with the cha-ching for the brake drums and front bearings we need. Hopefully the job situation will improve and come Spring I'll be driving this truck for the first time. That will be another video for sure! Speaking of that, the views are adding up at a pretty good clip for the first video. It's getting 80 to 100 hits every day. Very cool!

The weekly posts will continue, so keep coming back! And of course, please feel free to share the blog with your friends. Thanks!

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