Howdy gang. My name is Mike, but I have gone by a few different Usernames over the years. When I found the Planet I started as 2002Trooper. That name carried me for about a decade till that Trooper ate it’s second 4L30E and I sent it down the road. I changed the name to TonkaToy when my 93 LS came into my life as a dedicate trail truck and I drove it accordingly with a fearless disregard for getting home since I trailered it everywhere. Build, wheel, break, and repeat… Thanks to many of my great Isuzu friends I made over the years it has become quite capable. Last fall my confidence surpassed my judgement and I flopped it on the driver’s side climbing Dickey Bell trail at Uwharrie. A short time later, a little body damage and a windshield later it was driving back to camp.
So why the name change? Well, in many other aspects of my life people know me as Gumbo so I decided it was time to bring that into my Isuzu world as well. Why Gumbo? Because it is me in a nutshell. I am from Louisiana. I am a proud LSU Tiger fan. I love to cook all types of food. Plus, my life has been shaped by a blend of experiences and people to form the man I am now. Gumbo is a dish made the same way. It is a blend of lots of different ingredients that are fine by themselves, but when blended together become something even better. That is me.
