A pointless story.
Just a short distance from the endless parking lots of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World you will find the Car Care Center. The CCC is your traditional gas station and repair shop that is typically visited by exhausted parents and children that have consumed far too much sugar while being subjected to sensory overload. I have visited WDW dozen of times over the past twenty years and have always seen the same Florida sun baked International 4700 rollback parked on a grassy knoll of the CCC. From the very first time I spied this truck I wanted a picture but that always proved to be more of challenge than expected. When visiting Florida I usually don’t have a car plus the truck sits in a very unfriendly location for pedestrians. With each passing visit and year I figured that I had seen the truck for the final time but it was always there parked on its little hill watching the thousands upon thousands of visitors stream in and out of the park each day. On a recent visit last month I again saw my old friend and sadly assumed that its time had to be drawing to a close. At best this truck is 21 years old and will probably be phased out soon for an Chinese built electric powered robot operated tow truck. I said a silent goodbye as my bus passed by the CCC. Sadly for you the story doesn’t end there. The very next day while visiting Hollywood Studios the truck was there and in a near perfect spot for a photograph! Fellow visitors glanced in confusion as I snapped a photo in a sweltering parking lot while acres of carefully manufactured fun designed to be photographed laid just around the corner. My family never even stopped walking as they have grown used to this type of behavior.
On the final day of our trip we again passed by the Car Care Center. I expected to see my old friend on the hill but it wasn’t there. Mostly likely it was out on a call but I couldn’t help but think I had just caught a glimpse of the future.
Who ever thought you could write 367 words about an International 4700 and not have it be sales related!?