Do I have your attention? What in the world, you might ask, is this post about? A rather eclectic combination: The Queen of England, farting, Uncle Claiborne, and a Cybertruck. But I will bring them all together in an unexpected way for the reader who chooses to go through the door with a big question mark.
The Queen of England
By most accounts, Queen Elizabeth led a fulfilling life. Her Majesty undoubtedly had a significant historical presence during her time. While some may debate how certain events transpired within her family life, I believe public figures deserve their private moments just as much as the rest of us. Particularly since any published information about a famous person is almost inevitably false or, at the very least, intentionally misleading most of the time.
As a public figure involved in much of recent history, anything she was part of in the public sphere was, however, open for discussion. In fact, I would argue that her public life is more open to scrutiny than her private one. She was widely regarded as an effective and mostly beloved royal, though with the ironic twist that her “off-limits” family life may have damaged her reputation among the public.
But this preamble, while somewhat relevant, is not the main focus. The key point here is her iconic wave. She spent possibly thousands of hours of her life waving to her adoring (or otherwise) subjects and fans. Even without knowing what those she waved to truly thought of her, she still acknowledged their interest with her wave.
(credit: ChatGPT)
Farting
What can I say? Everybody has done it at some point in their life – even the Queen of England.
( credit: ChatGPT)
Uncle Claiborne
My wife’s Uncle Claiborne was a great man. He passed in 2020 after living a tremendous and mostly joyous 99 years. Though he faced many hardships along the way, he navigated them with tremendous grace and reflection. He often said he wished he had engaged more in life, feeling that he mostly “floated” through it as an observer. But in the end, I don’t think he realized the wonderful impact he had on others or the legacy he left behind. Universally loved in the small Mississippi town where he was born and lived most of his life, he had many friends despite being an introverted guy. He was a churchgoer nearly his entire life, as many from that time period were.
Uncle Claiborne lived on his own until a little past the age of 98, his wife having passed in 2005. Their children had preceded them both. When he could no longer care for himself due to health issues, my wife and I brought him to Georgia to live with us. He survived another nine months, just beyond his 99th birthday.
He wasn’t exactly a book-smart fellow, but his common sense was off the charts. He figured out how to do a lot of things by trial and error and mostly enjoyed the process. He also liked doing unusual things. For example, when he was younger, he read in a magazine that you could cook a roast on a long car trip by attaching it to the engine. So, one day, as they were about to travel to a location several hours away, his wife prepared a roast. He took the prepared meat, wrapped it in tin foil, and attached it to the engine block. Sure enough, the roast was cooked by the heat of the engine! But, he said, when they stopped for gas and when they reached their destination, the smell of the roast would draw dogs “from all over the county.” 😄
(credit: ChatGPT)
He loved gadgets—any type that could potentially accomplish a task in a more unique and quicker way fascinated him. I think it was partially an offshoot of his abundance of common sense—a knack for finding a better way through nifty tools.
He also trained as a Navy pilot as World War II was winding down. True to his character, he flew under the Golden Gate Bridge during training, even though it was against regulations—a bit of a daredevil. 😆
A Cybertruck
Like many, my wife and I watched the Cybertruck Reveal event on November 21st, 2019, via YouTube. Our first reaction was, “What is this ugly-looking thing?” It was like catching a whiff of an offensive smell. But, just as many others experienced, it quickly grew on us as the event proceeded. After mulling it over for eight or nine days, we decided to put down the refundable $100 deposit to reserve our position in a line that would reportedly eventually have 1 to 2 million reservations.
Thus began the wait. And we waited and waited. For four and a half years, we waited! Tesla finally announced that production would begin, at a slow pace, in November of 2023. The assumption was that they would start going down the list of reservation holders, offering the opportunity to configure a Cybertruck and complete the order.
But there was a catch: They would only be building the Foundation Series of Cybertrucks to start. This meant everyone on the list would be offered the chance, over a period of many months, to purchase a fully equipped Cybertruck with Full-Self-Driving and a bunch of other options included. In a nutshell, if you didn’t mind shelling out an additional $20k, you could buy one early!
When we heard about this, we still assumed our chance to buy was several years away. So you can imagine our surprise when, on Friday, April 26th, I received an email inviting us to configure a Foundation Series Cybertruck! We went to see one in person in a showroom the next morning and configured our vehicle online within the hour.
Long story short, we finally received our Cybertruck (the AWD version) on June 8th. In the weeks leading up to that date, I had read many comments about the truck on a Cybertruck owners’ forum. They were overwhelmingly positive, so expectations were high—and we weren’t disappointed in the least!
I could spend a lot of time discussing how the steer-by-wire system is so easy and fun to use, involving all four wheels. Or about the sports-car quickness and how great it handles in Sport Mode, or the luxurious ride. I could talk about the fantastic sound system, which one reviewer said was among the three best he’d ever heard in a vehicle. Or how well it performs off-road, including the ability to drive through water up to 32 inches deep. Or the sturdiness and reliability of the automatic tonneau cover. Or the cool, futuristic-looking stainless steel exterior. Or any of the many other neat features. But that’s not what this post is about. 😄
Tying it All Together
Attention
Driving a Cybertruck is quite an experience. Yes, it has all the aforementioned features and more, and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had driving a vehicle. But there’s more to it than that—this thing is an attention magnet!
Being uncommon in most places and sporting such a futuristic, space-age look, the Cybertruck naturally draws people to it. Many want to take pictures in front of it when it’s parked in a public location, peek inside the windows, or ask about the tonneau cover and other visible features. Some people ask, “What is this thing?”—they’ve never heard of a Tesla Cybertruck. Then there are those who know all about it but have never seen one in person. We’ve actually drawn a crowd more than once simply by getting out of it in a parking lot and showing it to one person. It makes us feel like bodyguards to a celebrity.
While on the highway or city streets, we have people driving by taking pictures, giving thumbs up, or waving. We find ourselves waving to a lot of people. We’re not always sure what they’re thinking, but in our experience, the vast majority seem to enjoy seeing it. Nonetheless, if someone is taking a picture or waving while driving by, we always wave back. At times, we sort of feel like the Queen of England because of all the waving (obvious exaggeration, but you get the picture). And, like her, we know it’s not always big fans to whom we’re waving. There is a small minority who dislike the looks, even while acknowledging its ability to attract attention. But what brings us the most joy is seeing the reactions of kids—they seem to love it in an unreserved way that makes us smile.
The ToyBox
This truck has a lot of typical “Elon Musk-esque” features that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, like in most other Teslas, there’s a software feature called ToyBox. Within this ToyBox, you’ll find selections such as Romance Mode, which displays a roaring fire on the screen while blowing warm air throughout the truck, and Lightshow, which flashes lights, rolls windows up and down, and moves the side mirrors in and out, all while playing a preprogrammed musical selection through a loudspeaker.
And that brings us to farting. One of the ToyBox selections is called Fart Mode. When activated, you can make any seat in the vehicle sound like it’s farting, just by pressing a button. You can even choose from a selection of fart types to change the noise it makes. 😄
Perspective
Our excitement for the vehicle began, as mentioned earlier, in November of 2019. Uncle Claiborne moved in with us a few weeks later. While he was with us, he got to see pictures and videos of the truck whenever we watched them. As a fan of all kinds of gadgets, a former World War II pilot, and a retired old-style traveling salesman who spent a lot of time driving cars, he became intrigued by and excited about the prospect of the Cybertruck. He even once said he hoped to live long enough to get a chance to ride in ours.
Sadly, that day never came. He passed away the following September, three years before production began. But we know he must be smiling with us every time we drive it. It’s nearly impossible to experience it without smiling!
Yes, it’s really that good.
