This is a Ford Ranger. A lovely small truck. Popular. Seen around the midwest like crazy. In fact I almost bought one, but thankfully my main man Andy talked me out of it, and I was graced to become a Subaru owner. And I have never been happier. But, this is about that truck. And…this truck…
This is an entirely different truck. Looks like GMC truck of some sort, with customization that lends itself to the job at hand. A work truck, pure and simple. A work truck.
Well, now how does this relate to your health Dino…come on, stop rambling. Okay, I will.
This week I was at the gym, and I met a man who was doing pull ups in a bullet proof vest. At first, I thought bullet proof vest, at the Weston Y, who is this guy? Then I was paying attention, and this was the greatest athlete in the room. It was amazing. So, I decided to go up and talk to him. We ended up chatting and it turns out he was a Marine, and had to go back in theatre in a few weeks and needed to get used to wearing the vest again. So, I was totally impressed.
Then as I paid attention even more I realized that this man was not like the other guys at the gym (and this brought on the truck thing). As a matter of fact a lot of the DUDES at the gym were secretly staring at him. You see, we have a clique of meatheads at the Y in the evening. Tribal tattoos, sliced open shirts, no cardio, and a lot of things wrapped around their wrists. Lots of what I assume to be former high school football players, or high school wrestlers. But, tribal tattoo and white baseball caps mark these guys.
Anyway, I was watching these guys watch this Marine. And it was sort of fun. They were all clearly intimidated. He was the strongest guy there, and in NO WAY the largest guy there. So it begged the question, what did all those large dudes with the tribal tattoos do with their bodies.
And here we get into the truck. So a Ford Ranger. Good truck. Can tow a jetski, a boat, you can put your bike into it. It can do a little more than a car, and is just fine.
A work truck, can pull a home, deal with mud and snow on epic scale, get you in and out of places to work safely and efficiently. Sure, your not going to see a lot of cool wrap around graphics on a work truck, but you are also not going to see a lot of work tools in a Ford Ranger.
And as far as my body and health goes…right now I am a bit like a broken down car. I want someday to be a work truck. I want my body to do what I want it to do, efficiently. It is just the vessel we move through life, and I want my body to do work.
It is interesting how I furthered this out a little bit. I am not sure how an old friend Gerald will like me talking about this, but it ties in. This guy I know Gerald was a football star in high school. Truly awesome. And I bumped into him months ago at the Y, he was coming home from the pool. He and I talked about the gym a lot over a few months, and he never mentioned lifting or anything macho at all. He talked about the pool, and stretching, and triathalons. He sort of blew me away. He had returned to the pool I think, after extended time away. And he talked about his body in those terms, of DOING things, and not looking like things. It was when I first started to think about it like this. It was a cool moment.
I think we all want to look good. Sure, I would love to have 32 inch waist, and whatever. But more than that, I want a good score on my cholesterol test, and a good score on my blood sugar and thyroid test. I want a body that can run when I want to run, jump when I want to jump.
I see this…
And I do not know what function it serves. I mean it clearly took some work, but what does that dude do.
Then there is that. While I am not a Marine, I would like to think someday if need be, I could haul a buddy over my shoulders.
Ford Ranger v Work Truck.