Yesterday was She’s birthday, so when the phone rang last night I said “That will be for you, it’s most probably TJ ringing to wish you happy birthday.”
It was, and they chatted away for half an hour or so. Then She said “Do you want to talk to your father?”
He obviously said “Yes,” as She passed the phone over to me.
We chatted for a bit, and he said “I’ve got a birthday present for you too.”
“But it’s not my birthday.”
“No matter. This can be your birthday present for next year.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“An RG1311 Commer.”

Backstory:

All my working life I’ve driven trucks, going back to L, M, A, S, and K Bedfords, (the S and K Bedfords were pigs of things, the S series would roast your feet on a fully laden uphill climb; I kept a broom-handle in the cab to hold the loud pedal down while I hung my feet out the door, and the K series had to be driven hunched over the steering wheel to be able to see more than a hundred ft in front of you because of the low roof-line.)
There were IH AS and AR162s (the ‘A’ designates Australian assembly,) and Austin Ks that I drove too, the K Austins sorted the men from the boys; if you couldn’t double de-clutch or reverse by mirror you could not drive those things…there was no way you could turn the wheel while reversing with just one hand on the wheel, the steering was just too heavy. And synchromesh…what’s that?
Then I got a job driving for the local Egmont Dairy Co, and they gave me an RG1311.
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
Easy to get in to, easy to get out of, good visibility, comfortable, a beautiful truck to drive.
After a few years they phased them out for Mitsubishis, and later on Volvos.
Neither of them as ‘driver-friendly’ as the Commer.
So I’ve always had a soft spot for them.

More backstory:

TJ has a mate, Matt Silver, whom I’ve met several times, who collects Fire Engines. He’s done it for thirty years or so, and has acquired fifteen or twenty of them; and has had TJ do all the mechanical maintenance required, for which TJ has never charged him.
Storage of the collection has become an issue for Matt; so he’s decided to sell them all, and knowing my fondness for the RG1311 offered his RG1311 fire engine to TJ in lieu of payment for services rendered.
And TJ decided to give it to his daddy.

Back to the beginning:

To say I was gob-smacked would be an understatement. I just didn’t know what to say. It’s one of the nicest gestures I’ve ever had from anyone in my life.
I actually got a bit choked up over it.
To think that my younger boy thought to do such a thing for his old dad.
I’m just blown away.

He went on to say he’ll get it registered and a Certificate of Fitness on it, and it’ll be mine.

Kids eh?
Don’t they do the damnedest things?