Tonto

This brown truck was once the pride and joy of retired shop teacher and whirleygig-maker Art Eisenmann of Brixey. He was so fond of it that when it started to wear out, he had the engine rebuilt, the brakes worked on and new tires all around. Then he had a stroke, and was never able to drive it. When Art and Gwen made the decision to move east to a facility where they both could live, where Art could have the care he needed and Gwen could have a busy and meaningful life, I offered to buy Art’s truck. He agreed, but when the time came for the sale, he was tearful, and told me that the truck had always been his faithful companion. I said, “In that case, I’m naming it Tonto.” And I did. That was some years ago, and I’ve put more than 60,000 miles on Art’s truck.

I saw Ronnie Jones today at Baker Creek, where he was selling his beautiful sedum plants and planters. He said he’d seen me driving down the road, and said to Heidi, his wife, “There goes Tonto.” Ronnie is Art’s son-in-law. He said when Heidi called Gwen, her mom, she told her, “Ronnie saw Tonto today,” and they laughed.

Tonto, you good old truck, you.