Glass exploded!! Willie . . . yes, he Willie, had taken charge. Yes, he, Willie had aimed. He, Willie, had confidence in his shot. He, Willie had blown one Ford pick-up outside mirror to smithereens. Without a word, Lena Mae replaced the gun on the rack and hauled a hang-dog Uncle Willie home.

Next season found Uncle Willie past his previous season's humiliation of pick-up truck mirrors and no trophy buck. Any hunter knows that skill must be paired with proper equipment. Surely, the gun was the previous season's problem and certainly not the skill of the sportsman.

With this thought, the year-old gun was traded along with some really good Barlow knives for the gun. With the new ultimate weapon and no Lena May in tow, Uncle Willie once again headed to the clearing of his previous defeat. Exercising enough sense to get out of the truck this time, he carefully laid his cherished Auburn sweater on the hood so as not to scratch the paint job. With his target in sight and the gun's safety off, Willie steadied and readied himself. All was still with only the sound of late fall insects hanging in the air.

"What you doing there, Willie?" boomed long time friend and landowner, Jake, as he prepared to thump Willie good heartedly on the back. Caught totally unaware, Willie jump-started and, in doing so, inadvertently fired.

Yes, Willie knew. He knew without even turning around he'd done it again. The old Ford, previously crippled under his hand was cringing from old memories. The hood bore the mark once more of his hunting prowess. Fortunately, there was no eight-cylinder head injury.

Usually in newly wed life it is thought the couple will have a most difficult time adjusting to each other. However, the Adjustment Award had to go to the old Ford in this instance. Already shot twice, it flinched each time one of the owners hopped behind the wheel. And with good cause? Can inanimate objects think? If so, the old truck would have thought, "Oh, please not again, I can't take it" as Uncle Willie selected the only tree in town ready to shed a branch to drive under on his hurried trip home one late afternoon. There was one consolation, when the hood crumpled under the limb, it closed the bullet hole and knocked the shattered mirror clean off the fender.

Since the old pick-up's abuse came primarily from Uncle Willie, it almost sighed with relief one August afternoon as its female owner slid behind the wheel. Owner and vehicle spent an entire summer day flea marketing on the school grounds. Loaded down with her "finds,” Lena Mae placed them carefully in the Ford's bed, then hopped into the stifling cab. The steering wheel was untouchable due to the heat. Being the innovative gal that she was, Lena Mae turned her full skirts into hot pads, wrapping the wheel for easy handling. The hot wheel thus handled, she drove happily along, thoughts on displaying her new treasures to Willie. Maybe it was because her thoughts drifted. Perhaps it was excess skirt. Perhaps it was because she was Lena Mae who was part of Willie - or maybe it was just that the old Ford knew it was time to give up its struggle for existence. Turning the corner, the voluminous skirt ensnared the wheel. Both Lena Mae and the truck fought valiantly for control; but the skirt, a hot wheel, and a very solid pole claimed the victory.

All in all, it worked out well. Between the two of them, Lena May and Willie provided the insurance company ample reason for providing the means to repair his, now theirs, old Pontiac and paint it a glorious pure blue that the best of the Auburn Tigers would be proud of. The Ford died a happy and relieved pick-up, that is if inanimate objects can think and have emotions.

[Note from Asa: Almost every fact is true. I cannot vouch for the adverbs and adjectives. In reality, Willie was Steve Wadley and Lena is Susan H. The untrue part is that both of these friends are married - just not to each other.]