[Boomtown Rat]

When I was a kid, we had a 100 acre farm with a befriended family in "Downstate NY". Besides the tractor, an old Ford, we also had a 1942 Willys Jeep as our farm vehicle. I was 12 and digging ditches as a summer job, when Rolf, the farm's co-owner dropped me my lunch packet one afternoon (he had a restaurant and was between the lunch and dinner seatings) and to check up on me (this was 1981 - no cell phones, etc.) because it was a typical 95/95 day. Because it was so hot and I'd made good progress digging, he suggested I take a dip in the brook at the other end of the farm. He tossed me the key, said "have a great afternoon" and took off. I spent the rest of that afternoon learning the intricacies of the Jeep's 3 speed manual. Needless to say, progress on the ditch slowed somewhat in the coming weeks of that summer, but I got a lot better at driving... If I ever get the space (and the necessary small change), I will get myself one of these Army surplus Jeeps. Very fond memories...