It was the morning of September 17th, 2011.  It began like any ordinary Saturday.  The dogs woke us up too early.  We drank coffee and probably watched a few shows on HGTV.  Maybe we ran a few errands.  We drove Mae’s ’76 2002 over to Dunkler’s farm market and filled the trunk with peppers, tomatoes, red onions, and cantaloupes.  But this would not end like any ordinary Saturday.  This day would be something very special.

I had borrowed my buddy Ron’s 16 foot tandem axle trailer.  He uses it to haul his demolition derby car to the Randolph fair.  Ron’s latest victim was an old Honda Accord donated by Lake’s auto recycling and was named “The Quarter Pounder.”    I washed the remaining mud, a reminder of this year’s carnage, from the car hauler’s well-worn treated decking.  With the newly clean trailer behind my Ranger, we headed for Stow, a 20 minute drive through the twisty back roads of the valley.

I was a little nervous about what Mae might think about the Tilux once she saw it in person.  I was relieved when after arriving,  she started taking picture after picture, documenting it’s current state.  She seemed as excited as I was.

Harvey’s brother already had a jack under it when we got there, and I brought a set of 4×100 bottlecaps that I had as a spare set of wheels.  They would serve as temporary rollers to get the car home, and be used until the stock steelies and hubcaps could be refurbished or a replacement set could be purchased.

Ready to roll!

With the help of a chain, a come-a-long, and Mae and Harvey’s brother pushing, we easily pulled the 2000 up onto the trailer.

I don’t know why, but this picture reminds me of the movie, “Jaws”, when the shark comes up on the boat to eat the people.

All loaded up and ready to go!

Our convoy pulled out of the driveway, headed for, hopefully, an uneventful drive home.  The only tense moment was the steep drive up Portage Path hill coming out of the valley, hoping that the three come-a-longs and the transmission being in gear would hold her on the trailer.

Once home, I backed the trailer into our driveway which unfortunately is an incline.  Getting the 2000 off of the trailer and into the garage pushing it first uphill on the trailer, and then letting it roll down the ramps without crashing into the back of the garage, all with no brakes and the car not running was a real treat!  Thank you to my neighbor, Justin, whom I tricked into helping.

welcome home girl…..welcome home…..