Back in October of ‘57, Bum Steerbridge went in for his annual physical at the behest of his Mrs., and was met with some unexpected and concerning news. It seemed that, during the prostate exam, Dr. Brown felt something suspicious and worthy of further investigation.

Trying to get his mind off the situation, Bum got in his old ‘47 Super Deluxe wagon and headed down to Frontier Ford to look at new cars. He found a new Country Squire to his liking on the showroom floor. Rather than trade in the ragged and worn Super Deluxe wagon, he decided to donate it to Our Lady of Immeasurable Concern, looking to earn some possible points towards a positive prognosis.

At that particular time the sanctuary of the church was undergoing renovations as a result of water damage incurred during a turd-floater of a storm the previous spring. Huck Delmont, the maintenance man overseeing the restoration, made use of the old Ford with countless trips over to the Rusty Hammer Hardware Store to pick up supplies during the project.

It was on one of those trips to pick up and extension cord and new ladder that it dawned on Huck that there might be a use for the old pulpit, lectern and confessional, all being replaced in the renovation. That afternoon he pulled the old Super Deluxe into the maintenance shed behind the church. He pulled out his old wood 36” Four-Fold Rule and started doing some calculations in the pocket memo notebook he always kept in the breast pocket of his striped bib overalls.

Measuring the former furnishings from the sanctuary first, then the warped body panels of the Ford, by the end of the afternoon he had sketched out a plan to make the most of what God had provided to refurbish that which the Ford required. He set about working on the project, finding time when things were slow around the church. It took him about four months to fashion new doors out of what had been the pulpit. Crafting the new tailgate and lift gate took another two and a half months. The real work of art was sculpting all new wood paneled ceiling for expansive interior of the wagon out of what had been the confessional. It made the Sistine Chapel look cut-rate.

Several coats of Simonize Paste Wax brought new life to the Pheasant Red Super Deluxe.

Folks around Fort Stockton were in awe of the restored long-roof, a few even called it a miracle. Huck kept it to himself the following summer when he went to the Piggly Wiggly and only bought two packages of hot dogs and three dozen buns and somehow fed five-hundred out of the back of the Ford at the Confirmation Day Picnic. Sister Thelma didn’t say a word when she sent Huck up to Mineral Wells to stock up on bottled water and by the time he got back to town the whole backend of the Super Deluxe was filled up with wine. The good stuff.

The only downside to the refurbishment of the Pheasant Red Ford seemed to be that when people went anywhere in the wagon with Hank behind the wheel they couldn’t help but share things they’d been feeling guilty about and couldn’t keep to themselves any longer. Confession might be good for the soul, but it made Huck downright uncomfortable.

And ol’ Bum Steerbright? He was blessed, as well. Turns out that ‘bump’ on his prostate was just a wart on Doc Brown’s finger. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

So does a ‘47 Ford Super Deluxe wagon.