Making new converts..

[tsm1@domain.elided (Tom Mandera)]

Thought I'd share a short story with everyone in the hopes that it helps the
rest of us out...

My fiance', Julie, has been pretty seriously against Lifting either of my
Scouts.. says lifted trucks look ugly, and I'll roll on the first corner, etc. 

We went wheelin' with our local club (first trail ride we've made) in the
snow last weekend.. my '77 was the "stockest" truck there.. 196-4cyl (only
non-V8), 3spd, 31s, 4.09s, rear Track-lok.

We had a blast getting stuck.  Julie got behind the wheel a good way (while
I worked the shovel!), and exclaimed that she'd made it farther than I did..
Hah hah hah.

She also spent some quality time at the receiving end of a tow strap, since
my Scout is too heavy to float and too low to sink. 

When we finished the trip, I joked to her, "So, NOW can I get a suspension
lift?" to which she said, "Yeah.. it needs a lift!"

I've told her all along that when the '72 gets done, the '77 will be hers to
play with.. we'll go wheelin' together.

Well, she informed me that day that she wants that 196 ripped out and a V8
stuffed back into the engine bay, a 4spd, some lift, and a front locker (to
go with the rear track-lok) before I hand it over to her.. No complaints here!

So.. that was STEP 1 of the earnest attempt at getting Julie hooked (she
liked to play up in the hills with my trucks before, but this was the first
sign of a rather serious (and to most folks, disturbing) addiction).

Step 2 - purely by accident (pay attention here folks!)

Julie dropped by my office at lunch.. and saw my Scouts West calendar was
still on January.. so I flipped it to February, revealing Erick Foor's
"Spare Parts" and another SSII.

Hook, line, and sinker.

"I want my Scout to look like THAT!"

Dead serious.

One week ago, lifted trucks were ugly, tipsy, and she'd never be able to
climb in...

Now, she wants 40" Swampers, and 4" springs-over the axles.. 

Now, if I just lead her on a little bit more... she'll surely be an addict
(and maybe forget about wanting a CJ..)

I almost told her that an hour before she stopped by, I'd ordered the
Skyjacker kit.. almost. :-)  I'll wait until I pull up to her house with the
kit installed.. heh.

Anyhow, I hope the rest of you learn something through this, and it helps
further your goals of getting every family member addicted on the same drug.

I'd never thought of using the Scouts West calendar as a tool.. but look out
folks, it's Deadly!

Also, all those hours of me NOT driving my Scout off-road, and letting Julie
drive is finally paying off, just like I'd hoped it would.  The more she
drives, the more she wants to drive.. soon she'll be riding my butt to get
my '72 back and finished so she can have HER Scout.. (until the '72 is done,
the '77 is still MINE, though I've caught her calling the '77 "Hers" on more
than one occasion this last week)  It was agonizing to sit in the passenger
seat while she would wheel, but... soon we'll be using the CBs and
recovering each other's Scouts when we get stuck, and we'll BOTH get to
drive. :-)

Good Luck on your S.O.'s!

-Tom Mandera, Helena MT
'72 Scout II - "HIS"
'77 Scout II - someday HERS