What does Home mean?

A truck named Chris.

Brent started the Dodge, after fueling it, and let it idle.

While it was, technically, new it wasn't quite 100% factory.

Brent had added a system that allows the driver to open a valve to slightly bypass the carburetor and make the engine run more lean.

It also had the fuel line going to a tank that the carbureto intake was hooked to with pipe.

It runs on 100% fumes and all he had to do, to start it, was pull two knobs, turn the key and push a button.

It had immediately fired up and was running better than any vehicle I had ever worked on.

Even better than both of the cars that I'd found in the shop.

There was no exhaust smell at all.

He drove the truck out and into the cave.

Turning the headlights on, he got out.

"Okay. Since it runs nearly 100% efficiently, there are no carbon gases to worry about but, it will draw the oxygen down.

I'll see you in a few hours." He says, kissing me and getting back into the truck.

He drives off further into the cave and I go back into the shop.

Closing the hatch, I shut the doors and go back to the kitchen.

Lysle and Zhane are there but, Charlie and Lyla aren't.

"Where is Charlie?" I ask.

"He and Lyla went to talk in the bunker." Lysle said.

I went to check and I heard them doing exactly what was said.

Talking.

I peeked in and saw them sitting by the osage sapling.

There was a small branch coming off of the side that I'd have to cut off later.

Brent says he wants it to grow as straight as possible.

I was just about to leave when I saw the two kiss.

Seriously? We just intervened earlier, for nothing...

I apprised Brent of what was happening.

{I figured that this might happen.

In the shop, next to my Snapon box, the two large wood chests.

I just hooked up to a trailer I had stored near the cave entrance.

In those chests, there is a sawmill and chainsaw.}

I went and opened the chests.

Sure enough, just as he'd said.

I removed the open paint cans of cat litter, silicate moisture absorbant and charcoal.

Setting them aside, I removed the equipment and had it placed neatly in front of his toolbox.

When he returned, he'd asked me to raise the pavillion and stand by.

When he had me lower it, only the truck was on it, not that the trailer needed to be in the shop, too.

After pulling the truck off of the pavillion, he stepped out and had a huge grin.

"What?" I ask.

"There's enough good wood out there to build the Whitehouse twice over." He said.

Apparently, in his time, that was the nation's original capital building.

I've often wondered why it was relocated to Denver.

Brent sat the sawmill equipment on the pavillion and went to a trailer that was against the wall.

I never thought to uncover it, probably because I was bored before I met Brent and it's his shop again.

I'm so glad that he's able to enjoy this house again.

Pulling the cover off, it seemed to be another, much larger, lumber mill.

He moved it to the pavillion after grabbing a 40 foot 220 volt cable.

It had four prongs and dad said that three is single phase and four is three phase... I think... don't quote me on it.

He pointed up and I smiled.

I pushed the lever up and got onto the pavillion with him.

Our kids are safely playing in the bunker, so, don't worry about them.

Plus, even if they're distracted, at least there are two adults with them that we don't have to worry about.

Then, there's also Lysle and Zhane who are staying for supper, too.

Brent will be cooking.

Now, when I think of a trailer that a pickup can pull, I was thinking of a 13 foot steel framed trailer that could carry equipment or furniture.

No... apparently, Brent seems to enjoy taking things to the most extreme possible.

Seeing a 34 foot four axle bumper pull trailer with a manually operated crane and four extendable legs...

"Why would you use that truck instead of my dump truck?" I ask.

"The trailer only weighs 875 pounds and is made of extruded aluminum.

I might have 6,000 pounds of wood on there, at most.

The truck handled it easily though, I will need to was the little bit of mud off from when I nearly got stuck and had to use 4-wheel drive to keep going.

It still would have got stuck, had I not swapped out the front and rear internal differentials with positraction models.

The gearing of the differentials is 4 to 1.

A little thirsty on the fuel but, overall, it's just as capable as your dump truck."

"It's the body of the truck I'm worried about." I say.

"Oh, I see."

Brent grabbed a 20 pound sledgehammer and swung at the side of the bed.

It bounced off without leaving a dent or scratch and I couldn't understand why.

"How...?" I asked.

"When I got the truck, it was a hideous light olive color that looked like diarrhea.

I took the body completely apart and sandblasted it.

Then, I heated it until it turned a cobalt blue, at 550⁰F, before slowly decreasing the temperature over the following three months.

The oven I used is the container that the truck was stored in.

Anyway, heat treating the metal made it deflect impact better and the "paint" is high impact and abrasion resistant powder coat with UV blocking abrasion resistant transparent vinyl wrap.

If I ran into something, the body metal of this truck would crack long before it dents." He says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Simple, I wanted a work truck that I could take to car shows and listen to people call it a pavement princess.

The plate on the front is it's name tag.

Chris."