White House

Not long ago the truck Aileen and I are using while here in Bolivia, an '87 2-wheel drive Chevy, broke down. By "broke down," I mean the lever for the turn signal and windshield wipers fell off. Sometimes things just fall off here. Now, I figure a typical turn signal lever replacement in the states takes 1 day, maybe 2 if your mechanic is busy. In Bolivia, it means your vehicle is out of commission for 1 month while your steering column is stripped apart and you wait for a part to be shipped from Brazil.

So, while we await our repair, we've been given a loner vehicle. Behold, the White House:



This is a vehicle with a lot of history. It was bought new by the mission in 1983, a Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-Up, and was converted into a medical vehicle to bring aid to rural villages. They put a big white camper on the back to house a medical bed and various supplies and instruments, and was thereafter dubbed "The White House." Since 1983, she's taken a fair amount of licks. Now it sits under a shed a majority of the time, only used on rare occasions.

People here joke about it's lack of, well, everything. It doesn't have some of your modern-day conveniences, such as power steering or a dome light, but I like it. I like that I have to push a special button to give power the spark plugs when I turn the key over. I like that all of the knobs and switches on the control panel are labeled with somebody's personal Dymo label maker. I like that, If I wanted to, I could take off the roof, fold the windshield over, and cruise around safari-style. And most of all, I like having the ability to winch myself out of a pickle, should the need arise. Truth be told, I'd rather keep this than have our old pick-up back.