THE SWAT TRUCK

The television show The SWAT TEAM was on the air for 39 episodes. It began in the winter of 1975. On the opening credits, men jumped out of a dark van with their weapons. The show was taken off the air because it was considered to violent for the time. Compared to today's television, it was a pussy cat.

I am not sure just who named it the SWAT TRUCK, I just know that friends of Bud's liked to jump out of the back of it. Yes, they emulated the shows they saw on television and in the movies.

When we acquired it, it was simply an old, small mail delivery truck. We spent part of the summer making the inside into a living space to include two benches that popped up to form a double bed, a piece of plywood was made to hang from the door rollers to serve as a bed for Rachel and the dash was carpeted as a place for Bud to sleep. The bedding stored under the benches and a cabinet hid the cook and eating wear. Curtains were made to cover all the windows. The inside was done in green; the paint inside was called sour apple. The outside was painted with a paint brush; it was olive green.

The idea was to go to the Wisconsin Dells then on to Green Bay, Wisconsin. We would tour the southern side of Lake Superior before heading to Thief River Falls, which, of course, was always part of the vacation because that is where family lived.

The maiden voyage for the SWAT TRUCK was Douglas County Lake. It was primitive camping except for a manual pump for water. For some reason, we didn't have anything to carry water in except large soda bottles, at that time they were still glass. By the time we left for the vacation, we would have acquired a five gallon plastic container for water.

The Wisconsin Dells were beautiful. It is a wonderful part of the Midwest. Rachel didn't think much of the ride on the DUCKS through the forest, yet, I took the trip again a few years ago and found the flora and fauna worth the ride. We stayed at a delight campground called Sherwood Forest, Rachel and Bud kept in touch with walkie talkies. It was the kind of campground certainly worthwhile. By now, we had learned about camping books you could borrow from the library. It wasn't quite so hit and miss. At least we knew what they advertised, even if one had to pay .25 cents for three minutes of cold water showering in a stall rusty with the impurities in the water.

On to Green Bay, although we were not Packer fans. It was hot. Was there any cool area in Wisconsin? It did not seem so. Meals were simple, the idea of eating chili in 90 degree weather didn't seem to make anyone happy. One night, we camped in a park which had tall virgin pines. It was dark when it was daylight. There was a sense of relief from the heat.

We took highway two across Minnesota, stopping near Lengby to visit my parents at their cottage on one of many Island Lakes. We had a fire on the beach in the evening. We went to see Ella in Thief River Falls a day or two later. When the SWAT TRUCK was turned off, it wouldn't start. She offered us her AA card; instead, we got bushings for the starter and got it running.

The trip back to Lawrence was long and hot. Bud started saying DAN DAN the FRYING PAN MAN in such a way that all of us were laughing.

Back in Lawrence, and with only one car, the SWAT TRUCK was used as a work vehicle. It is said people were asking if the driver was selling drugs out of it and it was sold.

The boys in the neighborhood would miss the SWAT TRUCK.

What would be next?

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