Nov 12 2008
Trading an Old Truck for a New Chair
A few weeks back my husband received a check in the mail from my Father. I called to ask my Mom if she knew that my Dad had sent Dale a check. As I have aged and they have aged, I think it’s best to verify that they both are aware of what the other is doing. My Mom quickly put my Father on the phone and My Father relayed the following story…A few weeks prior, he had bought a new car. Instead of trading in his old car, he decided to trade in Dale’s old Ford F150 extended cab truck. We had left the truck with them when we moved to Hawaii 5 years ago. It wasn’t worth much then, and it certainly wasn’t worth much now. But, my Dad, being my Dad, loves to trade trash for treasure and live to tell the tale. He asked the dealer what he would give him for the truck, and the dealer told him a price that my Dad deemed too low. So, my Dad walked out. The dealer soon came running outside to coax my Dad back inside with a better offer. One of the great joys of my Father’s life is to walk out of dealerships and have car salesmen run out to coax him back. He convinced the dealer to give him more money for the truck and then sent Dale the check for the trade in.
It was decided that Dale should use the money to buy himself a new chair. Dale’s recliner is 13 years old. I bought it for him for Father’s day when Josiah was a baby. It has been used as a baby rocker for all four children, a sleeping location for several bouts of bronchitis, the most desired location for tv watching, a fur collector and scratching post for pets. It has been much loved. However, it has seen 6 moves, sits at a slant, and has a broken recline. When it arrived last Autumn, I relegated it to the basement with Dale’s coffee cups and military gifts. After he came home, he brought it back upstairs for all to admire. He really needed a new chair, and my Father, who has a great love for comfy chairs agreed.
So, the chair shopping commenced. Now, Dale hates to shop. He wants to walk into a store, pick up the item he needs, pay and get out as fast as possible. Looking at the options, considering the choices, visiting multiple stores, and dealing with sales people is unpleasant at best. The first shopping day was without children and consisted of three furniture stores. In the last one we found a chair that we both liked, but at this point, he was so sick of shopping that we left. The next five store shopping day added Zeke to the mix and Zeke decided to be full on: jumping on the furniture, yelling loudly, and constantly asking Dale, “Daddy, are you going to buy this chair?” “Daddy, are you going to buy this chair?” “Daddy, are you going to buy this chair?” Zeke would pull recliner handles, spin the chairs in circles, and jump all over them. The combination of an obnoxious child and pushy sales people following us around kept Dale’s scowl etched permanently on his face. In the end, we went back to the chair we liked in store number three. When we went up to pay, we were informed that the next shipment of chairs would not arrive until December 24th. All that shopping, and no chair to take with him. Just like the kids, he has to wait until Christmas to open his present.
