A Fire and a Funeral

Today was yet another interesting day at work. What I would give for a normal week!

My poor truck has come to a bitter end. At least I hope it is the end, because there are several of us that are planning a funeral for it. But first, the story of how this has come about.

It was a hot day today, but we've had hotter this summer. My rusted out, shockless, pitiful excuse for a farm truck often struggles with starting, but struggles even more in the heat. Today, after sitting for and hour and a half during lunch and after while I ran around the farm, I drove it back to CVI and dropped my student off in the field. Then I drove it up to the building so that I could get the Gator to harvest melons in the field. As I got to the building and put my truck in park, I started smelling a burnt/overheated smell from the truck. Figuring that my truck had merely overheated, I turned it off and decided to leave it to cool off, as I was going to do anyway. After turning it off, smoke/steam started emanating ominously from the hood. Still convinced this was overheating, I call the head of the maintenance department and told him. He said it was just overheating and he would send the main mechanic over to check on it shortly. (Incidently, the mechanic and my student had just checked the gas and radiator, etc. after lunch.)

Since my truck was parked next to the owner's wife's vehicle, I decided to go tell her that she should move her SUV...I trust(ed) my truck about as far as I can/could push it. She went up to move it, and I went to get a drink and check my email. When I came back out I could see that the truck was smoking more and that the paint on the hood had begun to bubble and char. Hmm..bad sign, don't you think? Luckily, Mary had gone running to get her husband, and he came and we pushed the truck back from the building. Then he tried to use a fire extinguisher...not so effective with the fire under the hood and not outside it. The landscaper came up at this point and they hosed the hood down with a garden hose and managed to pop the hood open. At which point they used the garden hose to further put the fire out. (Not brilliant, probably, particularly since later inspection revealed that the fire started in the wiring around the alternator.)

At any rate, my truck is now dead. (Unfortunately, we didn't let it burn quite long enough, since when they were hauling it out, the engine still turned over.) All previous drivers of the truck are planning a funeral...we're thinking pushing it over the riverbank would be fitting.