By James W. Dolan

I recently bought another pickup truck. My old truck was over 10 years old and as much as I hated to part with it, it was time. You wonder why someone in early "seniordom" wants a truck. It's the last vestige of my youth and I'm afraid to let go.

There's just something "macho" about hoisting myself into the cab of that 4x4 that convinces me I've still got it. What it is that I've got isn't very clear but that's not important. Young people drive trucks so if I do, I'm still young. It's not just a vehicle; it's a mechanized, four-wheel fountain of youth.

With my truck I can carry, lift, and haul. I can take things to the dump, pickup wood from Home Depot and move furniture - not exactly activities you associate with old folks. For me the truck represents an attitude.

Trucks are viewed as tough, rugged and durable, kind of how I like to think of myself. Having the truck permits me to still hang on to that fading image. The term "senior citizen" has nothing to offer. It sounds old, drab and useless and "elderly" isn't any better.

I prefer the term "seasoned." It emphasizes experience and wisdom rather than the more debilitating aspects of the aging process. Like fall foliage my plumage has turned from brown to gray and now white. It's a daily reminder that I will soon be entering the winter of my life, but not just yet.

My truck and I have things to move, stuff to carry, driveways two plow, places to visit - miles to go before we sleep. I carry work gloves, a supply of bungee cords, maps and a first-aid kit so that I will be ready for anything. When you're a "pickup man," you're a willow-the-wisp, never certain where fate may take you.

Granted, I feel a little silly driving around in a suit and tie but that's just the public me, the real me is wearing boots, jeans and a tee shirt. My family thinks it's undignified for someone my age to be driving a pickup but they don't understand. Self-image is what it's all about. If you think and act young then you are young.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford probably drive trucks; so did Ronald Reagan. I bet Jimmy Carter still drives a truck but that Richard Nixon never owned one. Trucks are unpretentious, direct, simple and honest. A car is just a vehicle while a truck can be your pal.

I actually felt bad giving up the old truck as if I was abandoning an old, reliable friend. Unfortunately tucks cannot be put out to stud so I left it at the dealership. Faithful to the last, it sacrificed its turn-in value so I could drive a younger model. Now you won't find a spouse willing to do that.

Like a workhorse, a truck waits patiently to be called upon to undertake another task; ever ready to be of service. Only those that have listened for the call of the wild or have dreamed of leaping into the saddle and heading west can appreciate the truck owner's gritty sense of independence and self-sufficiency.

While girls own and drive pickups, it's a decidedly masculine vehicle. It's very utility conveys the image of the handyman, equipped and ready for any challenge. There's something wild and uncivilized about trucks that sets them apart from other vehicles. They project an in your face capability that shouts at lesser vehicles: "So what can you do!"

"Stand aside you Lincolns, Cadillacs and BMWs make way for a brawny, kick-ass, buster of a vehicle, designed to do more than just look good. While you're carrying people, I'll be hauling stuff and stuff is what life's all about."

I confess to not being much of a handyman. Family members tell me if we lived in "The Little House on the Prairie," all of us would have perished before Christmas. Even if I can't fix anything, I want to look the part and with the truck I can at least fetch and carry.

This trucker is not going quietly into his dotage. I intend to move and haul right up until the time they have to haul me to my own funeral. Instead of a hearse, I want my coffin placed in the back of my pickup so that when they drive me that last mile people will stop and say: "There goes a real pickup man."

(James W. Dolan is a retired Dorchester District Court judge who now practices law at Dolan, Connly & Flaherty, 20 Redfield St., Dorchester, jdolan@dolanconnly.com)