"Who would have thought that simply ordering a pizza would help with a landscaping job? Paul wondered as he pulled the rented pick up into a parking space at the hole in the wall burger joint he frequented. A pizza delivery had allowed him to meet Joe who he noticed drove a big military type vehicle just perfect for hauling mulch, rocks, and other landscape items. After a brief conversation a deal had been struck and the next day Joe had been at the job just outside the city limits.

Stepping out of his truck Paul stretched and then glanced over to where Joe was pulling his monster of a vehicle into its own space. "He's a hard worker... gotta give him credit there." Paul murmured before turning and heading into the restaurant. He'd grab them a table and make sure the waitress knew that he was going to be paying for the whole tab.

The job had been a big one and even when he bid it Paul had been unsure just how he would accomplish it by himself. He had thought about going to one of those day labor places to see about picking someone up but those were as hit or miss as asking the pizza guy to help. Of course, in this instance, asking the pizza guy to help had paid off big time.

"Thanks for the help today." Paul spoke up when Joe finally approached the table where he was sitting, "And here's your cut." Fishing in his pocket he pulled out a wad of cash that added up to $600 bucks. That was a 50/50 split of the profit they'd made after the materials were paid for. "Order what you want. They've got one of the best bacon cheeseburgers I've ever had."

Joe parked the six wheel drive, ten wheeled M35A2 between a Prius and a CRX, which made Joe chuckle as each of these vehicles barely were the height of Joes slightly mud stained tires. “What a great day…” Joe said with a smile as he felt a twitch of sore muscles in his right shoulder and his left bicep. As much as Joe loved his job and his side business, they did lack the physical challenge that a day landscaping had provided. Joe chucked a bit, It also is a more fitting task for my vehicle

After locking the truck Joe fallowed the older man into the burger joint and sat down, absolutely famished and excited for a good meal. "Thanks for the help today. And here's your cut. Order what you want. They've got one of the best bacon cheeseburgers I've ever had." As Joe counted the money he was surprised by how much, and then more surprised that Paul was implying that he was buying the food, wondering how Paul had split it, and then deciding he simply didn’t care. The 21 year old man ordered the recommended bacon cheeseburger and sat back to relax and stretch a bit.

“Well thank you friend, you should keep my number, if you come across any other large jobs that myself and my truck can assist with give me a call” Joe said with a genuine smile as he ran through a list of things he could spend this money on, including some go fast parts, or a shiny new gun.

"I've got your number in my cell and I'll definitely use it if I need help again." Paul replied with a smile, "It's not easy to find people that are willing to do physical work."

After taking a sip of the soda he had ordered, Paul turned the conversation toward Joe. Sure, he knew the guy was a good worker but beyond that he didn't know much about him. Besides, they had a few minutes to kill until their burgers showed up.

"So besides delivering pizza and helping out the odd landscaper, what do you like doing? What holds your interests?" Paul asked idly as he focused on the younger man. From the type of vehicle the man drove Paul was pretty sure he must be a tinkerer. No one was going to own a vehicle like that unless they were starting their own army or they were willing to roll up their sleeves and do some of their own mechanical work. I mean, could a truck like that even use standard parts? Surely they had to be special ordered, didn't they? It was an interesting question though probably not interesting enough for him to actually research it. Paul was most definitely not an advanced mechanic. Sure, he could change the oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, battery, spark plugs... the basics but anything beyond that would take a qualified mechanic.

Joe grinned and contemplated which subject he could mention that wouldn’t be completely boring to the older gentlemen. Joe decided that he would swoop past his small business; maybe the gentlemen had connections than could lead to more equipment or customers.

"Well, I run an at home business, basically I recycle Xbox 360s that have overheated or stopped working, then sell them for a bit of profit. I am a bit of a gun enthusiast, and I am sometimes involved in track days in either my other truck, or my late model motorcycle." Joe explained the first bit like he was talking about the weather; the real joy was obvious though when Joe started talking about his big truck. "However, my all time favorite thing to do is tinker with my MV (Military vehicle). Working on this specific truck, it’s just...." Joe paused while he thought up a good analogy. "Well, I have worked on everything from bikes, sports cars, and trucks from S-10s all the way up to Peterbilt Semi Trucks, nothing is nearly as fantastically ridicules as The Deuce." Joe looked out the window at his truck.

Many folks had told Joe that he was sometimes too passionate about vehicles, especially his deuce. He stopped himself from rambling and took a drink from his water, trying not to bore the man who had given the young man a good day’s work. Joe felt that all men had an obsession, or they would start to lose the will to live. "Tell me, what are you into, what’s your insanity?"

The man was a car fanatic... well that gave them almost nothing to talk about. Vehicles were simply something to get a person from point 'A' to point 'B'. They were not living things to be babies and pampered. They were tools for accomplishing a goal and nothing more. If Paul met someone that liked them then good for that person but they couldn't expect him to show a whole lot of interesting in something like that. Guns were pretty much the same thing. They were tools to accomplish an objective, not something to go crazy about.

"Operating your own business can be a challenge." Paul responded as he picked up on a thread he could at least talk about, "But a vehicle like yours definitely comes in handy for my line of work. Have you thought about doing tree trimming or lawn maintenance? You have almost the perfect vehicle for small jobs in those fields."

But suddenly Joe asked the question that made him stop and think. "My insanity?" Paul pondered silently as he thought about his interests, "Finding a leader that can guide the world along the right path and then supporting them with all my strength. But that's not really something you talk about at a first meeting."

"When I'm not working I like reading to try and better myself and I'm a pretty avid runner. Running is soothing, it helps calm me down. I dabble in a few other things but probably my biggest activity is running." Paul finally responded, knowing that it probably wasn't what the other man was wanting to hear. Deciding to throw Joe a bone so that their meal didn't get completely awkward Paul continued, "I've been to the gun range a few times but I don't own one. What types of weapon do you have?"

(RP conversations are hysterical because of the way, because they flow in such an odd way…)

Joe could immediately recognize that look that indicated a man that didn’t feel the passion about motor vehicles the way Joe did. This wasn’t a surprise, and Joe didn’t mind. Paul had given Joe more than enough to converse about.

"Operating your own business can be a challenge. But a vehicle like yours definitely comes in handy for my line of work. Have you thought about doing tree trimming or lawn maintenance? You have almost the perfect vehicle for small jobs in those fields."

"I can say, with 100% certainty, I have never considered any kind of work involving trees or lawns, and believe it or not I bought that vehicle for two reasons, and neither really have to do with its cargo capacity. However, I do enjoy getting my hands dirty, and a day full of hard work is never a bad thing."

Joe chuckled to himself as he thought about why he had actually bought the Deuce. He bought it because he was able to run alternative forms fuel, and because he figured that the customers would get a kick out of it. He usually ran 85% waist motor oil, which he obtained for free, and 15% gasoline as a fuel, and spent less on fueling his truck than his coworkers did in their little econo-boxes. Joe also just liked to be different, and delivering in a truck that was 13,000lb fit Joes style of different.

"When I'm not working I like reading to try and better myself and I'm a pretty avid runner. Running is soothing, it helps calm me down. I dabble in a few other things but probably my biggest activity is running."

Joe was most likely as able to relate to working out and running as well as Paul was able to relate to the activity of taking a vehicle apart, just because you could. Joe was in acceptable shape, was confident about his appearance, but to him muscles accomplished a goal, and nothing more. Running was for getting from one place to the other, faster than walking. Although Joe did run often, it was never something he would go do just for the relaxation of it, it was to try and not be terribly late. Joe simply nodded as he pondered why anyone would choose to spend their time running.

"I've been to the gun range a few times but I don't own one. What types of weapon do you have?"

"I have actually quite a few weapons, or do you just mean firearms?" Joe said with a smile, running through the list of weapons he owned.

So Joe hadn't considered using the truck to haul large load when he bought it. That was interesting. Why else would you buy a vehicle that large? That had to be a gas guzzler and his fuel bill for each month had to be out of this world. How in the world could he afford it as a pizza delivery guy? Maybe his family was rich and he didn't really need to work but just did it because he enjoyed it.

"Specifically I mean firearms." Paul repied with a smile, "I've had experience with the Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver and the M1 Garand Rifle. I never really got into using a semi-automatic pistol due to their tendency to jam and misfire. Which ones do you prefer?"

If Joe knew his stuff about guns then he might realize that both of those were historical weapons but Paul didn't really worry about it. Both weapons had ben employed as recently as the Vietnam War and Paul definitely looked old enough to fit that time line. There was no reason for anyone to know he had actually used them in the Algerian War.