we think that's pretty cool ...

Well, we sold our truck. The "beloved" Bounce-A-Lot mobile. *Are there still people out there who didn't know we have a little bouncy castle business? More on that later.* We bought the truck, A 1985 SUBURBAN, last spring just after we bought the business, to have something to tow the trailer with. This thing is a BEAST!
Okay, so this is the bottom. The rest of it doesn't look too bad, actually. It was meticulously repainted from two-tone brown to metallic blue about 7 years ago.
Oh yes, those are POT LIGHTS and surround sound in our Suburban. Paul put a lot of time into making it a little more comfortable for us. He likes to tweak stuff. He's good at that.

While in Prince Rupert, it boasted our business logo, slogan and phone number on the back side windows:
Bounce A Lot
Prince Rupert's Leading Fun-ologist
Seriously, I LOVED running errands in that thing. That's not true. I hated it. I did like that I could see well, wherever I was going. And I liked the feeling of being bigger than most other vehicles on the road. Made me feel a little safer. And I liked how I could fit my double stroller in without having to dismantle or even adjust it. So what's not to love about a machine like that? The steady stream of rainwater coming down on to my knee every. single. time I opened the door on a rainy day. The fact that I couldn't hear Max talking to me if I travelled more than 40 km/hour. To access the groceries or stroller in the back, I needed to either open the back window with the button on the dashboard or with the key in the back door. Then stand on the hitch or bumper to reach inside to reef open the latch, then get down really quick so the 500 pound door didn't break my little bones. Then crawl up on the 500 pound door, gather my things that had rolled half way to the front of the truck, jump down, and heave said 500 pound door back into position. Can't leave until the little window motor inches the window back up. It has air conditioning, rather, it has a little spot on the temperature slider that should turn on the A/C but it's just for looks now. Power locks! Two doors still work. Did I mention the road/wind noise coming in from the cracked weather stripping on the windows. Oh, but it's got lots of room for people. Yay for people room. Although, the back seat was usually out so that wasn't really an option. Stroller room was more necessary than people room.

For a few reasons, we decided it was time to say goodbye to the big blue beast. With the gift of Josh's car, albeit temporary, we really didn't need to be spending money for insurance and fuel for the truck, and we really weren't sure how much life it had left. The timing of Josh's car was perfect, just the way God likes to do things. And so, the truck went onto Craigslist. We got a few emails from folks sort of interested. Then along came Rick Rasmussen. What a good Norwegian name, I believe that could have been our family name. If I remember the story right, my ancestors chose "Madland" over "Rasmussen". I digress. Rick Rasmussen emailed Paul on Monday morning, saying that he was interested in buying our Suburban. I emailed him to tell him that Paul would be in touch with him after 4:30 that afternoon. He emailed back his thanks. Paul phoned. Rick Rasmussen asked a few questions such as "Does it run? Does it stop? Is the body in good shape?" After Paul answered yes to all of those, Rick Rasmussen said "Great, I'll buy it." This is when Paul asked "Who are you?" His email signature contained the title "Picture Car Coordinator". That made us curious but it was only after asking a few more questions that we learned who he really is. Rick Rasmussen works for a film making company, and he told us the cheque for our truck was going to come from WARNER BROS.!!! The movie they're working on right now is called Watchmen. It's a crime drama set in New York City, 1985. They need to find enough circa 1985 or older vehicles to replicate 2 NYC blocks. When he and his driver came the next day to pick up the truck, they couldn't believe what a great find they had stumbled upon. Paul made a comment about their plan to re-sell it after the movie, and Rick Rasmussen of Warner Bros. said "oh no, this truck will be in the movie industry for a long time!". Harumph. We should have asked for more money! They were so pleased with the truck! We were glad they were so glad.

But they didn't take it.

They had forgotten to pick up the cheque. So they came back yesterday with cheque in hand, and as a family we all waved goodbye from the living room window.

Perhaps some day I'll share with you the vehicular history of our 7-year courtship and marriage. You're in for a treat!