Upde Designs

Nikon D800 | Nikon 28 – 300 mm lens | ISO 100 1/800 sec @ f8.0

I was on my way to a meeting last week and I saw this old panel truck in a field with weeds growing up around it.  Reminding me of days gone by.  My Dad had an old rusted and faded red panel truck.  It had two seats in the front and my Sister and I would ride on metal milk crates with a blanket thrown over to soften the ride.  Talk about safety.  If my Dad would have hit anything we would have been airborne like a projectile through the front window.  🙂

Even though this is a Dodge and my Dad’s truck was a Chevrolet they look a lot alike.  Dad’s truck didn’t have the windows on the side.  Our only view of the outside world was through the windshield and the two small rear windows.

Nikon D800 | Nikon 28 – 300 mm lens | ISO 100 1/800 sec @ f8.0

I can remember on rare occasions getting to ride up front.  Many times my Dad would come home for lunch.  After lunch (of fried meat and fried potatoes, in lots of grease of course) he would smoke a Pell Mell cigarette and melt into the kitchen chair to relieve some of the fatigue in his body.  I loved the smell of the smoke.  He would look at me and say, “Davie, I have to go to Bethany for parts, do you want to come along?”

The answer was always the same, no matter what I had done before lunch.  There could be cattle to round-up, bad guys to fight, or a road to build through the sand pile, no matter.  I loved going with my Dad anywhere and as a treat we usually stopped at the cafe on the way out of Bethany to have pie.  🙂

Nikon D800 | Nikon 28 – 300 mm lens | ISO 100 1/800 sec @ f8.0

Something to know about my Dad.  He lost all the fingers on his right hand (he was right-handed.)  He had a birth defect in his left leg, made much worse by the lack of proper medical treatment and an operation by an incompetent Doctor.  He ran his own auto repair shop in a town of 450 people and if he ever had two quarters in his pocket at the same time it was a good day.

Later in life he had to walk on crutches and was driving a gravel truck every day using equipment that he designed to help with shifting gears and covering the load.  He worked from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm and not once did I hear him complain about going to work or his handicap.  When he finally retired he mowed yards around the neighborhood and drove a station wagon to pick up kids for the sheltered workshop in town.  He was truly an amazing man and I regret not telling him that.

Thanks for stopping by.  Didn’t mean to turn this into a trip down memory lane.  I do hope you enjoyed the photography.  I’m still trying to learn how to shoot and process images with the D800.  It creates such huge files and the level of detail is impressive.  Enjoy your day of rest and be careful.