V-8 4×4 Dakota!

2001 Dodge Dakota

Houses are too expensive in Taos so I bought a truck

Charles Savage drove a mean ’58 Dodge convertible back in Abilene. Dark metallic blue it was, and had three carburetors. The honking big V-8 and dual glass-packs made a thick, explosive rumble like a pack of Harleys in a barn. His father owned a dealership, of course. About this same time, I used to ride a red Cushman scooter to school. Briggs & Stratton lawn mower motor, centrifugal clutch, one brake at the rear. This being Texas, you could get a license to ride a “motorcycle” with no more than five horsepower at age 12. The Cushman, for example, or a moped. At 13 you could get a learner’s permit to drive a car if you had a licensed driver with you, which meant your 14-year-old buddy, maybe Charles in a pinch. He never offered to let me drive his Dodge, but we did go to gas stations with another idiot to ask the attendant for a dime’s worth of gas. Being in a loud convertible made this more hilarious, no doubt, though I tended to slouch down out of sight, and no damn body got shot like we do now that we’re all great again.

When I saw the 2001 Dodge Dakota 4×4 on the Santa Fe Craigslist, my eyes jumped right to “bulletproof 4.7 V-8” in the opening description. This was big because it told me I was dealing with a brilliant mind. The rest of the ad confirmed he was a car guy and he knew his punctuation. He’d also just moved down here from Chicago. The truck had been part of his family its entire life. It had every heavy-duty option in the book, even a transmission cooler. Everything replaceable had been replaced. Shocks and brakes and tie rod ends. New tires. There wasn’t a single dent. The original dealer sticker was in the ad! I texted the link to my brother. He messaged back, “Nice truck there, and you can tell the guy isn’t a savage.” No shit. And then, “You need a decent truck if you’re ever gonna move.” I hadn’t really thought I’d ever jump, but there it was, ka-boom.

We drove to Santa Fe to have a look. I had the asking price in cash. The seller turned out to be a baritone saxophonist house-sitting at a mansion on a hill. Not bad, I thought, and meant to ask him where he’d bought his shoes. When he told me his father owned a muscle car restoration garage back home, I knew the wizard energy was working. He started up the 4.7 and apologized: “Some people think it’s too loud…” It wasn’t.

My honey said, “Just do it,” and I did.

I drove it up from Santa Fe without a license plate and no insurance. The truck tracks like an arrow. It rumbles like the ghost of giant Harleys in the barn and I’m on high alert.

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John Hamilton Farr lives at 7,000 feet in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. As New York Times best-selling author James C. Moore tells it, John is “a man attuned to the world who sees it differently than you and I and writes about it with a language and a vision of life that is impossible to ignore.” This JHFARR.COM site is the master writing archive. To email John, please see CONTACT INFO on About page. For a complete list of all John’s writing, photography, NFTs, and social media links, please visit JHFARR.ART  

  • Carmel February 19, 2018, 2:26 AM

    Sometimes the dice rolls the right way up.

    • JHF February 20, 2018, 11:10 PM

      There was a real strong energy the whole time. Like a river in flood. The dual exhausts make a classy baritone roar. It’s solid, comfy, and strong. I’m in the bonding stage now. 🙂

  • Rita February 19, 2018, 10:16 AM

    Congrats and you deserve it. Great feeling to drive off in your new truck. And now you are all ready for the apocalypse or whatever.

    • JHF February 20, 2018, 11:06 PM

      I closed the deal on the New Moon. Wasn’t there a solar eclipse somewhere, too? Didn’t know that at the time. Friday was one helluva day though. This thing can go anywhere, thank God.

  • Mike Walsh February 20, 2018, 8:04 PM

    I like the no registration or insurance. LOL…..ROTFLMAO

    • JHF February 20, 2018, 11:00 PM

      Pretty much had to. Deal was finished in the middle of Friday afternoon. I could have tried to get registered at a Santa Fe MVD in the last hour before the weekend, but come on. Seventy miles back to Taos, never saw a single cop. I had the bill of sale and title, anyway. BTW this is one cool truck. I finally got the license plate today.

  • M.J. February 23, 2018, 12:11 PM

    Congratulations! Everyone needs a Dodge truck. Nice one! Enjoy! Now there’s no stopping you on your next adventure.

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