The Invitation

I realize I'm dreadfully behind in posting, and maybe no one reads this blog anymore but a scattered few, but one day I hope to put these posts in a book like our Aunt Mary Ann did and have recordings for our family. 

At least, that's what I tell myself. 

According to the time stamp on these photographs, this happened on May 12, 2012. I had come back from New Mexico and was grocery shopping with Himself at this wonderful market we found that has local produce at great prices. 

Tyler called me and asked if we would like to come by his shop since there weren't many people there on a Saturday. When it comes to Tyler and big trucks, it's not hard for me to drop all plans!

Oh, and could we bring him lunch? =) Love that kid.

People may not know this about me, but I LOVE TRUCKS. I actually love cars, too. I think this is why I get along so well with Ben G. - I may not know all there is to know about trucks and cars, but they never fail to hold my interest or appreciation! My father tells the story of when he was working on our car in the driveway one day when I was a toddler. I took my brother's skateboard and rolled under the car to watch him, and promptly fell asleep. I guess it was that comforting!

Ty works at a Mack and Volvo dealership in our town. 

 They are one of the biggest shops for supplies, so trucks of many makes and models from all over the nation end up coming in for repair as well.

 When he was at school in Tennessee, they would get to a problem in their training and the teacher would tell them that if they ever encountered something like that, they would simply send it to the dealership for repair so they don't have to worry about it. Well, Tyler's shop is the place those problems are sent to.

 They spent the first few months learning about auto repair in Tyler's school. His classmates told him that diesel was the wrong profession - he should be doing auto work. Tyler began to have doubts, himself, until the first day of diesel class. He said, "Mom, they fired up that diesel engine and this huge grin broke out on my face. I couldn't stop smiling!"

He still hasn't stopped smiling. =)

This is a shot of Tyler's bay. He has a Mack up on these huge jacks, so of course he had to spend at least five minutes explaining to me how this was safe for him to work on!

 Each of the jacks are synchronized wirelessly to move at the same time. This way, Ty can adjust the height by himself from one jack, rather than needing extra people stand at each jack.


I did feel a little better when I saw how much weight ONE jack was capable of supporting:

Explaining a transmission to Himself.

Nothing is small in a diesel shop! This is the transmission.

Where the light is shining is where the transmission goes. I'm STANDING under the truck to take this photo.

A diesel engine!

This one was completely rebuilt. (Note the grin? Still there!)

 A look down the shop at the different bays. Ty's is on the other side of that cement truck on the left.

This truck is brand new, in for recall on some whatzit part.

Another shot of Ty's bay.

Just outside the door of the shop was a brand new Volvo truck, still wrapped in plastic. Tyler invited me to climb inside and take a look.

 For the record - I never pass up an opportunity to climb around inside a truck. EVER. When Tyler was a toddler I would use him as an excuse for invitations to climb all over firetrucks, diesels, even to sit inside police and sheriff cars! My brother, Boyd, used to stop by our house in California with his rig. I would ask if "the kids" could take a look inside. ;-)

Storage under the bunk.

This one had a sun roof. I am standing up to take the photo, and I could stretch my arms all the way over my head without touching the roof from one spot. Then again, I'm only 5'4".

 Back outside, Tyler explained all the lines that had to be replaced on the new truck.

Before we left to get the groceries home, Ty showed us the tool box he had just purchased. His previous box was overflowing after a year and a half of working there, so he had to bite the bullet and make an investment on a new one. I'm so proud of him - none of his tools or equipment were purchased on credit. He saved his money and paid cash for every one of them.

On his first day of work, he was asked to change the oil on a truck. He reached into his toolbox to find the right socket for the job and was instantly dismayed - the LARGEST socket he had would only fit the SMALLEST part of the engine! He wisely lived at home with us and bought a few tools with each paycheck until he had what he needed.

Man-sized tools!

We are so thankful that Tyler was blessed with this job right out of school. It's an excellent company, and he has grown in skill and knowledge while working there.

Plus . . . . TRUCKS. He gets to do something so incredibly cool and still be home every night!