North Woods River Runner: Jeep: Drive It Like You Mean It

“…The spartan, cramped, and unstintingly functional Jeep became the ubiquitous World War II four-wheeled personification of Yankee ingenuity and cocky, can-do determination.” – Doug Smith Smithsonian

A Great Video And Song.

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As the story goes, what began in 1941 as a Government Vehicle later morphed its name into the General Purpose Vehicle, before finally changing into the abbreviation of G.P. (Pronounced “Jeep” for short). The story is more complicated than that as the word jeep after The Great War (WWI), also referred to any new vehicle or a new recruit. That’s the gist of it, however, and somewhere in there is the truth. Regardless, the Jeep has been serving ever since; for a total of 75 years now.

I got my Jeep at the end of the summer in 2001. It was used and six years old (a 1995 Grand Cherokee-Laredo). My wife and I told the kindly dealer (Ron Corey of Corey’s Motorworks & Sport Utility) we could only pay the amount we offered; no more. Between the money we could put down, and what we could afford as a monthly payment for the loan, we were locked into that amount and wouldn’t budge. As our two little kids climbed around the small office area, the dealer’s son finally said, “Dad, just let them have the Jeep.” That broke the negotiating, and gratefully we got a second vehicle. We were set to pay $149.58 for the next four years until the fall of 2005.

Not too long after that, I was driving to work and giving a teaching colleague (Keli) a ride. I was returning the favor after she had been helping us out. For the last couple of months, she had been giving me rides to school while we had been down a vehicle. While traveling through Loves Park, I got hit by another car. He had come off from a side street as we drove north to school. For some reason he didn’t see us, and pulled out right in front of us. Luckily nobody was seriously hurt, and the other driver felt terrible and wanted to make it right. People stopped by, the police arrived, and our principal came down and gave us a ride back home. After cleaning up from the shattered glass, and contacting my insurance company, Keli picked me up (in her car again) and we made it back up to school to finish the day out teaching.

While I waited the next few weeks for the passenger-side of the Jeep to be fixed, the attack happened on the World Trade Towers in New York City (9-11). Although a bit difficult due to the timing, I was able to get a small rental car to get me through, and even drove it to Michigan to help my parents pack up for their move down to southern Wisconsin.

Since that initial year, the green Jeep Grand Cherokee and I have been through a lot of adventures together; sometimes solo, sometimes with family, and sometimes with friends. It’s served me well to get from Point A to Point B; whether with the seats up taking people with me, or with the seats down masquerading as a truck. I do have routine maintenance done on the Jeep, even if months go by between washings. Omark’s Auto Service down on Broadway in Rockford has taken care of it since the beginning. Although we no longer live in Rockford, I still bring it down every 3 or 4,000 miles for grease, oil, and filter changes, among the other things that occasionally need to be replaced on an older vehicle. I’d say the guys there in the shop know it as well as anybody, and treat it as an old friend. The only reason I probably don’t wash it as often as I should is simply because I hate to wash off the dust and dirt from my annual trips to camp in the backwoods of Northern Michigan. As the dates for the next trip approach, however, I break down and have it beautified with a wash and wax. It’s the least I can do.

When I think of my Jeep’s personality as some people are apt to do, I don’t really think of it as a “he” or “she,” it’s simply the Green Jeep (especially since we purchased a silver colored one in 2015 as our family vehicle). The Green Jeep’s personality is based more on its attributes and adventures. As I explored the area’s preserves and wildlife areas, or sought out sacred trout waters, the ole Jeep was my means of transportation.

I’ve hauled firewood, rocks, camping gear, kayaks and canoes. I’ve slept in it, and I’ve blasted through snow drifts while driving in 4-wheel drive (with my kids cheering in the back seat). Although it’s far from perfect, the Jeep does the job. Those imperfections only add to its character. Character traits such as:

· * A missing passenger side mirror that I took off on a mailbox while waving to a neighbor. That was a funny story, and both scared and embarrassed my daughter who was “riding shot-gun” at the time.

· * A speedometer that only works intermittently.

· * An odometer that’s only worked occasionally for the last five years or so. The Jeep is roughly at 200,000 some miles, give or take a few thousand.

· * A radio that hasn’t worked since I don’t know when. It really isn’t an issue other than when I’m driving and I’m tired. I guess that’s the only time noise would be nice. My friend Joe once asked me about something he’d heard on a sports talk radio station, and then remembered my Jeep doesn’t have one that works; end of discussion. That was funny too.

· * A heater that only blows air off the dashboard and at your feet.

· *The passenger side sun visor that is tied into place so it doesn’t flop down.

· * The air conditioning which is non-existent, and has been for a long, long time. On hot days you bring along extra water, take your shirt off, and roll the windows down.

· * In 2014 when I got tired of the material slowly peeling off the interior ceiling of the Jeep, so I ripped it all out. That was right before I took it camping with my cousins. My cousin Sean (upon hearing what I did) said, “Another stripe on the tiger.” Indeed, as these are the traits that give the Jeep nostalgia and character.

· * The windshield that is newer, after I tried putting the wrong kayak inside of the Jeep (instead of up on top) and spider-webbed it. It was apparent redemption after doing almost the same thing to my friend Louie a few years before that.

· * The hatch. Anyone who has ridden with me knows about the back hatch. When open, it’s propped up with an old broom stick cut to the right size. Failure to remember that the hydraulic lift supports don’t work, or accidentally knocking the stick out, transforms the hatch into a guillotine type apparatus you won’t soon forget.

· * Tires, shocks, and major parts that have been fixed, changed, or replaced as needed.

· * When my son and I hauled its last load using the trailer hitch. The large trailer we were pulling was loaded down with a massive amount of rock, dirt, and wood chips that we were getting rid of. It was touch and go when we hit the road’s expansion joints going up and over the nearby highway, but we made it. Since very little of the hitch’s bracing remained, due to rust, Omark’s Auto Service suggested that I don’t ever do that again. Literally, those are words to live by.

· * I must travel long distances with jumper cables and a small tool box, especially after being stranded with a dead battery while trout fishing with my Dad (we flagged a lady down who actually stopped to help us). Another time I had to stop at a farm house to ask for an old coat hanger. After driving into a roadside ditch I was able to crawl underneath the Jeep to wire the exhaust system up enough to drive back home.

These idiosyncrasies aren’t meant to complain about my Jeep any more than they aren’t meant to brag about my Jeep. They simply make my Jeep what it is, and when I mention them, I do so with mild fondness. When I’m driving, and get stuck in traffic, or I see someone driving a shiny SUV that has never seen a dirt road (let alone a speck of dust), I mutter to myself, “Drive it like you mean it.” In a Jeep like mine, that’s been with you through the tests of time, it’s the least you can do. The history of this brand of vehicle is pretty impressive when you look back over the 75 years since it first came off the assembly line heading into WWII. I know it’s been pretty impressive to me when I see how our green Jeep Grand Cherokee has been there through the years for our family and me.

See you along The Way…