Saturday, June 11, 2011

Guess what we got? (hint: it has eight wheels and is 48 feet long)

WE HAVE DONE IT!!!!

Yes that is right...... WE HAVE DONE IT!!!!!!

Scott, Jessica, and I have been absent for a little while.
Where did they go?
Well that is a good question reader and the answer is EVERYWHERE.

The drama began 4 weeks ago. As you might have seen in our movies, we got a trailer from Jim B. of B and S construction. We thought it would do, and you couldn't beat the price (free! thank you Jim).
We worked day after day on Big Jodi (our nickname for the trailer), trying to desperately to breathe life back into her old messy molded bones. For a while we thought she was going to work, then we found the big D.R.(That's short for Dry Rot, which is long for the Devil).

I think it was Scott who intentionally pushed the index finger of his left hand through the front of the trailer (Wall, studs, insulation, and all.) Following the AMPP rule book that clearly states "do not go on a 10,000 mile trip with a trailer you can put your index finger through", we admitted temporary defeat and parked Big Jodi up by the road, with a sad sad sign that read plainly 'FREE'. (On a side note, Big Jodi is now the house of a guy named Clark. She was tired and ready for sleep. She will meet the end of her days in a trailer park many moons from now. Clark said he is going to strengthen the walls with a few tube of silicone. Way to go Clark!)

We started our search for a replacement to Big Jodi in Southern Oregon. We soon found that our little valley didn't hold a trailer worthy of the AMP project (to be honest there were trailers worthy, but not any under the price of 10,000 dollars).

We spread our wings and search out to Redding through Eugene....... no go.

We looked wider, Salem to Chico........ Nope.

Seattle to San Francisco?..... Sorry AMPP.

We began to contemplate defeat. Days passed and nothing. Weeks began to grow, all the while we held hands in circles and prayed for a break in the storm.... then it happened.

BOOM!!!!!!

You could hear the posting of a 1977 Terry dual axle travel trailer (original owner) far and wide,  like a binary gun shot in the silence of cyber space. We, with the help of Jeanna who spotted it, called 2 hours after it posted, but  the voice mail was already full. Everyone knew it was rad, and everyone wanted it. I called again, and again, and again. 32 times in total the first night. No answer.

We saw it was posted from a small town in washington. We woke the next day and drove to the town, arriving at 6:30 in the morning. During entire drive my mind was filled with the garage sale mentality. Early bird buys everything for a nickel. We drove through the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the rarest of trailers.... the Terry..... the white whale of the road. Nothing.

I called again at 7:00 am. Mailbox full, no answer. I knew someone had already bought it.

That is when I decided that enough was enough. This wasn't a trailer for me to look cool in at the lake. This trailer was for America. Thats when I started calling...... only for reals this time. Ring,ring,ring "I'm sorry the Voice Mail of xxx-xxxx is currently full, click. Ring, ring, ring 'I'm sorry the', click. Ring, ring, ring, RING, RING, RING, RING!!!!!"

I can't, with total accuracy tell you how many times I dialed that number, in a row, but I can with confidence tell you that I have never, in my life called the same number so many times.

Some where around my 30-50th call the impossible happened. Instead of the regular answer machine voice I heard what sounded like a cough....My heart sank... oh no, I have just made this guy really angry. After all it is 7:38 in the morning on a saturday.

"Hello?"
"WHAT IS IT YOU WANT?"
"I'm calling about the trailer on Craig's List.... do you still have it?"
"yes I still have it."
"I want your trailer. Can I come buy it?"
"....(pause)......I have someone coming to look at it. If you get here first you can have it. Where are you at right now?"
"I'm in washington"
"Bummer man, I'm in Salem Oregon"

Sear terror raced up my spine like pumping antifreeze through my marrow.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!... Did I mention this trailer isn't for us.... It is for America? America needs this man. Are you a patriot?"
"Yes."
"Then you owe it, as your civic duty, to sell us that trailer and not the guy who is coming to see it."
"...(pause).....O.K. see you in a second"

and that was how it happened. Just like that. That is how we got adopted Little Jackie to our Family.

When I got there the guy said he held it for me because I called so many times. He said anyone who would call 70 times in under 24 hours obviously wanted it the most.

To be honest....I had no faith that my whole battle dialing approach was going to work.... but the world works in mysterious ways.

Thank you world...or whoever pulled those strings for us. Without that we would have been..... well lets not talk about that.

Joshua