“Bug, Meet Beast”

So far, I’d been living risk free in my Airstream, in a beautiful RV park tucked among the hills along a gorgeous lake just a hop and skip outside of LA. I’m minutes from my LA Airstream buddies who have helped me tremendously in my education process. The park seems to be a well kept secret and has been an awesome place to start out, but the road has been whispering her promises of travel, adventure, beauty and growth in my ear, pulling me out of my comfort zone. It was time. I knew,  “Bug” was just not going to  get the job done! You see I’ve been driving a VW Bug for as long as I can remember. It was time to find a tow vehicle.

Bug was small, quiet and could go unnoticed slipping in and out of places without disturbing anyone. Bug represented everything polite, sweet, unassuming, and always would move out of the way for the rest of the world, making sure everyone around had their needs met first. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bug and all of her beautiful qualities, but, there comes a time in a relationship, where a girl’s gotta make some changes. So, along came Beast.

I have no idea why I called my Doge Ram 2500 4×4 Diesel Truck, Beast. I love saying that! But it simply came to me and stuck. Beast is strong, unapologetic, courageous,  and adventurous.  Beast is self reliant, commands attention and has no problem with everyone moving over. Beast has no problem putting herself first. Beast, owns the road. Just sitting in her I sit a little taller.

I grew up with three big brothers in the late sixties and heard all of the messages many of you had in terms of what was for girls and what was for boys. I remember times I impressed my brothers by daring to cross those societal lines. I recall climbing the trees in South Chicago that towered so high one could not see the homes, just the Sears Tower off in the distance above a tree blanket of fall color. Then as a young adult there was the very impressive pink tool kit that had tools better than some of the ones the boys had. I picked them out from target when rehabbing an old Victorian in South Minneapolis. After first moving to Los Angeles,  I successfully maneuvered the three dimensional grid of  LA freeways during rush hour, once again leaving my big brothers in awe. (If you’re from LA, stop laughing.) I had already impressed my brothers with my competence in doing things that we did not grow up thinking were for girls, but I guess societal messages go deep.  I still had tiny voices of doubt as to what I could do, what I should do, how much of my feminine self I might lose doing it, and other ridiculousness. So here I go again, relearning that as women, we can do whatever we want and it does not define us. There are no limits.  Now I learn how to drive and care for Beast, my 2018 2500 Dodge Ram 4×4 Diesel Truck, in preparation to learn to tow. I’m still learning about all she can do but buying her was a first step at making future towing and boon docking a reality.

By the way, if you are a truck salesman and you are a guy you should know… I passed up Chevy and Ford, not because of all of the oh so convincing classic online arguments over which of the “Big Three” trucks are the best, but simply because of how I was treated in the sale. At those two places I experienced two extremes. There were the guys who were more interested in making small talk about my cute cowboy boots… (and granted they are), or my beautiful turquoise necklace… (a treat to myself from Santa Fe)… but seriously, salesmen (and I underscore men… sorry guys). Salesmen who didn’t want to spend an iota of time educating me on the advantages of buying different trucks, but rather thought compliments  from guys would make the sale, basically lost the sale.

To top it off, I ended up at Ontario Dodge on the 15 in Southern California talking to  Cassidy, a twenty something year old snappy female who was smart not just on her product and all of its internal workings (transmission, engine, etc.) but also on the competition. She told me from her personal experience hauling horses, (as up until then she spent her days as a successful horse jockey). She didn’t waste my time with lots of filler blah blah blah. She was fast and to the point, and since the sale, is still incredibly helpful when it comes to questions I have. She goes way above and beyond in terms of customer service and follow up even after the sale. Oh, and I told her if she was going to hand me off to the closer for the finish of the deal, rather than closing it herself, I would walk. And you see how that chapter ended. Thanks Cassidy! Introducing Beast!