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APPROVAL RATING! 100% Vehicles from $5000 - $25,000 whatever you need! GIANT USED CAR CLEARANCE PROBLEMS = SOLUTIONS On Disability Late Payments No Credit Bankrupt No Money Divorced 0 Down Lowest Interest Rates Credit Counselling YOURE APPROVED! YOUR JOB IS YOUR CREDIT Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. I WILL FINANCE YOU! ILL MAKE YOUR FIRST 3 PAYMENTS TRUCKS VANS SUVS CARS WHATEVER - 2,500 TO CLEAR! Specializing in 100% Credit Re-establishment IF WE DONT HAVE IT - WE WILL GET IT! Low as per wk. $37 SAME DAY DELIVERY $0DOWN! IF YOU HAVE AN INCOME YOURE APPROVED! Ask for Casey Acton/Georgetown, Friday, June 6, 2008 7 First things first, I admit Im a sentimentalist. I tend to cling to things for the damnedest reasons, as they tug at my heart strings, making me a pack-rat in the process. I think the Brown family has been that way for generations cuz the place is loaded with old trea- sures (a.k.a. junk) that some might say they col- lected, whereas Id venture to say they were just like me too chicken-hearted to throw em out. Three years ago, I kept the old cat around longer than I should have. I simply couldnt face taking her on that one-way trip to the vets office. Last year I wrestled with myself at tearing out some of the old wooden stabling in the barn, to make way for new livestock pens only because those old wooden stalls had been there for years. (The fact they were half rotten was totally lost on me, but I finally caved in and saw the light.) But my latest quandary is a bit more difficult its the old farm truck. The little 1986 Ford Ranger XLT has been around for years, bought by my dad to replace the old 79 F150 that died a slow death with mechan- ical problems and rust. It was relatively new when he purchased it in the early 90s. He and Mom took it to town for errands, like picking up chicken feed, a sheet of plywood, or perhaps to fill up the gas can for the lawn mowers. Being an XLT model, the interior was pretty posh, a mighty sharp little truck when it arrived on the farm. All my kids learned how to drive with it in the back fields, and they later drove it to after-school jobs. They also used it to move to and from uni- versity. That same little truck proudly starred in my nephews movie which he filmed on the farm dur- ing his stint at Ryerson. It consequently graced the silver screen at a couple film festivals across Canada. And Id guess that little Ranger has probably made more trips to the waste transfer station in Milton than any other vehicle in Halton Region. But over the past few years Ive been torn with indecision. Its now 22 years old, and I have an inner turmoil as my sentimental side battles with the fiscally responsible side. I ask myself if its fea- sible to license and insure a 22-year-old truck to draw a load of garbage to the dump once a month or so. A trailer hitched behind my SUV could do the same for peanuts. But the Ranger has less than 190 Ks on it! Its just nicely broken in! Its like an old friend! This battle has raged for years, but the final blow came a week before the insurance was due. It blew a transmission cooler line, and leaked all the fluid on the ground. The little Ranger was suddenly dead in the water, unable to move. I called my insurance broker (who happens to be my daughter too) and told her to NOT renew it. She expressed her condolences and asked if I was gonna be okay. I said I would... in time. The next hurdle for the sentimentalist in me was what do I do with it now? I recently brought a scrap metal bin in to dis- pose of the old scrap pile. A friend suggested I wheel the Ranger into the bin first, then pile the scrap on top. That was the plan, until I thought of the heavy metal scrap piled on it, flattening the hood and roof of the little truck. Images of my par- ents driving it to town got to me. I couldnt do it. I know Ill have to deal with it soon, when the time is right. Until then, Ive been thinking. Itd make a great flower planter... (Ted Brown can be reached at tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Like the death of an old friend Ted Brown