Jamie Garrett Hits 10,000 Mile Mark on His New Truck in Less Than Six Months

I'll admit I love it.  My first truck has won a special place in my heart.  I feel at peace while driving it.  I feel superior sitting up higher than most others in traffic.  With that being said, I drive entirely too much.

I bought my first truck back in April at Dodge Country in Killeen.  It's a black Ram 1500 quad-cab that's a step or two above the base model.  It's got a few bells and whistles, but (much like me) it's nothing special... just a hard worker with a lot of personality.  I've driven to the beach & back, I've driven to baseball & football games and I've been chauffeur for many practices and after school events.  She's been abused.  She's had food & drink spilled in her.  Yet she still purrs every time I turn the ignition.

I was still surprised by the mileage when I saw it click over to 10,000 miles.  I can't believe I've driven that far.  That comes out to a little under 2,000 miles a month since I bought it.  How does that happen?  I live less than 10 miles from work, yet I'm on pace to burn through my warranty in 18 months or so.  Still, I can't quit her.  I love her.  Rihanna is my girl, and I'll drive her 'til the wheels come off.

Analyzing those 10,000 miles, I've found there's not been a lot of "us" time, just Rihanna & me.  I figure I've spent a little over 3,000 miles just driving between home & work, sometimes two or three times a day.  That Monday-Sunday because I don't get a lot of time away from work.  I've spent a good 4,000 miles driving to work outside the radio station at various events.  There's the Baylor baseball games in Waco I worked at, football, baseball, basketball & even soccer play-by-play gigs I've done for the radio, DJ gigs in various cities and, of course, plenty of remote broadcasts & trips to the radio station tower site to fix problems with the station signal.  I've spent at least 1,200 miles escorting the kids around Central Texas to school, practice, games and trips to the water park.  I spent about a 700 miles driving to the beach and back.  That leaves about 1,100 miles of driving to the grocery store and back.

I just get concerned over the high mileage.  I'd like this truck to still be in running condition in five years when Tyler is driving.  How's that going to happen?  The only solution I can see is making sure the fuel gauge is always on "E".  "Sorry honey, but the truck doesn't have gas.  I'm gonna have to take your car."