The Tale of Matthew and his Truck named Potato

Matt bought a truck for $1100 from a man that my dad worked with. Maybe that's what all men truly mean when they say they're going to go "look" at something. When he came home, he rushed inside to come get me to see his purchase that he was so proud of. It was a 1988 Toyota pick-up truck and it was the same model as the one in Back to the Future, which Matt later confessed that he's always wanted.
I didn't mind that he bought a car for so cheap, considering that we only had one car. I only had William at the time, but I was expecting Lily that next month. It was nice to think that I could have my car and Matt could have his.
I hurried and put my shoes on and walked outside to see this number. "You spent $1100 on this?" were the first words out of my mouth. It wasn't the excited "man, you got a deal" reaction more as it was the disgusted "you actually paid money for this?" reaction. Matt didn't let me get him down.
"Yeah, isn't it awesome?!" was his response.
"You spent $1100 on a truck with a wooden bed. It looks like a farmer's truck. Are you hauling produce around? It looks like something that would carry potatoes. This is a potato truck."
And so it was thus named by me.
The potato truck obviously ran, but it certainly needed a lot of work. Matt and my dad were willing to put in the time, money, and energy into doing it. They started with the muffler and some undercarriage work. Then, Matt bought a new truck bed from the same fellow as the truck.

They installed it.

Primed it.

Painted it.

This truck ended up being Matt's inanimate object of affection. Unfortunately, with us moving, Matt made the decision to sell his potato truck. If he did that, then it would become official for us to move. We would have the money to move to Utah as we feel is right for our family.

To me, and many others, I'm sure, it's only a truck. To Matt though, I think it was like notches down from selling one of his own children.

It was sold to a man named Julio for $3000. (Nice profit, huh?) Mr. Julio was impressed with it, made the comment that these trucks last forever, and said that he was shipping it off to Guatemala.

I never liked the truck, but I found myself sad because I know Matt had to sacrifice something that he loved for our family. I have to admit though, it did look better when they finished than I ever thought was capable. Matt's an amazing guy to do that for us.

So, the potato truck - or camion de patata, if you will - is no more.

Although it's been a couple of weeks, there are times when Matt will tell me that Julio "better take care of that truck."

Goodbye Potato Truck. Believe it or not, you're missed by all of us! Good luck below the border!