Necessity if the Mother of all Invention
I was talking with a friend the other day surrounding certain times in our lives when we came up with a unique solution for what ever was plaguing us at the time.
So here is the story ...
My car had died a horrible death and a friend decided to loan me one of his vehicles. Now this man had three VW Rabbits that were running and two that were being repaired. For him, it was no big thing, but for me it was a life saver. I spent the next few months tooling around the RTP area of North Carolina in a little white VW Rabbit GTI with a red fabric interior. That little car would go pretty fast. I drove it like an Indy 500 race car driver.
I was heading over to a couple's house to have some dinner when this old lady (who recently was released form the hospital after surgery, was still having chemo done, was just released to be able to drive herself that morning, was coming back from a doctor's appointment) decided to make a left hand turn. This was on a two lane road in the backwoods around Cary, NC. She was coming towards me on the road and was turning into her driveway. I slammed on my brakes and scooted towards the center line in hopes that we would miss each other. We did not. I took half of her bumper off and damaged the bumper on the Rabbit.
I pull over to the side of the road and look around. The car behind me stopped to make sure I was okay and went to check on the lady. She had drove all the way into her driveway and had parked. I was about 20 feet behind this good Samaritan when I heard him say that she was in an accident. Her reply, "What are you talking about, I am fine."
The good Samaritan simply pointed to her bumper and said, "Look."
"You hit my bumper, when did you do this? Why did you hit me?" the lady said.
At that point I walked past the good Samaritan and stated that I was the one who had hit her vehicle when she crossed in front of me to get into her driveway.
"Oh, I thought that was the dip in the driveway and not a vehicle hitting me." She said.
Insert almost 2 hours before the Sheriff shows up and I get her life story and how sorry she is and how is she going to get to the doctors now that her car is messed up and her medical condition and what the doctor said and that when her husband gets home and that she called her son and ... well everything except pulling out the photo book to show me her grandkids.
[[fast forward]] She got cited. I got to dinner late. Had a great time. Left the house to go home.
I sit in the little VW and turn on the lights. Something looked wrong up front. When I investigated, there was one headlight out. Not a problem I said, I can make it home and get a new one in the morning, plus, most of the streets are lighted well. I start home and get stopped by the sheriff Department just a few hundred yards from where the accident happened.
He stopped me for driving with one headlight. I proceed to tell him the story of the old lady and her medical problems. I wave the prior accident information and made statements that I did not know it was damaged until I tried to go home. Promises of getting it corrected as soon as possible and general welling up of the eyes but not crying at this point. He lets me go with a warning.
After I started, again, the other headlight went out. I realized this when the Raleigh City Police Department stopped me for driving without any lights. [[insert 45 minutes of explaining what a crappy day I had and that I was already in one accident, already pulled over once for driving with one headlight, just trying to get home, explanation of crappy feelings for hitting an old lady on her last leg, would be willing to replace the headlight if I can get to a store that sold them, at this point just crying because of the overall crappiness, etc]]
There was a Wal-Mart just up the road where the cop followed me to ensure that I was safe. I head into Wal-Mart to find a pair of headlights. They had none. I stopped for a moment, got really pissed and walked through the hardware department. $75.00 bucks later I am out of the store.
Standing in front of the Rabbit I unwrap the duct tape and successfully attach two Mag Lites to the hood. (You know the big kind that can be used as a baseball bat. ) I turn them on and grinned. Some additional 'alignment' to make them look better and off I went towards home.
Yes, I am a little bit country and a lot redneck, but it got the job done. I made it home (some 25 minutes of city driving). I got a few looks and a lot of laughter when people realized what I had done at stop lights.
Do any of you have an interesting story with an inventive twist?
posted by Mr Pants @ 1:29 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Switch old lady driving from doctors to latino gang members in stolen car....
Coldest day recorded in Northern Virginia - wind chill under 30 below - all shops are closing due to cold - I had just closed out at the cigar shop where I worked part time and was heading home around 9:30pm. Driving in the middle of a four lane road - a car swoops in from an onramp and bashes in my front end - if I hadn't 'straightened their trajectory' they would have crossed the median and hit oncoming traffic. They do not stop (of course) and I follow them to a Hardee's down the street. We all get out and check for damage, my radiator is pouring lovely green goo all over the frozen ground - they beg me not to call the police and give me a name/number - the driver said it was his cousin's car he is driving. I tell them I have to call my insurance company becuase I cannot drive my vehicle, which I promptly due at a payphone in the parking lot (this dates the story, have you seen a pay phone lately???)
I explain the situation to a soothing voice at the insurance company who assures me a tow truck is on its way and that I should definately call the police, for my protection. So I hang up and dial 911 - at which point the wonderful youthful latinos who are watching my every more, jump in their car and peel out of the parking lot. Ten minutes after elaying the story to the dispatcher, an unmarked cruiser shows up - the 'gang intervention unit'. Ok - it's 30 below, Hardees is closed, no heat in my Jeep - and the wonderful officers in the warm sedan have me stand outside while relaying the situation....I finally asked, could I please sit in the back? They had to think about it.
Finally in the nice warm cruiser, I listened as they call the number the young man gave me - it's his mother's phone - she was worried they would try to hurt me cuz he is in a gang and the car is indeed his cousin's, but was in storage with no insurance or valid registration - ie stolen. So with the knowledge that it is indeed a carload of gang members out loose on the street, the wonderful officers have me get out and wait for the tow truck in a deserted parking lot while they drive around to find this mystery car (and find a coffee/doughnut shop that is still open).
After an hour of waiting for the tow truck and 3 calls to the insurance company, assuring me it is on it's way, I put a call to a friend to see if he can rescue me, to which he tells me he'll be there with hot coffee within 30 minutes. Remember, there is no heat source for me in 30 below temps. No open businesses. No available toilet...you know how when you are shivering with cold, how the need to pee is worse???
The 30 minutes turned into an hour and half - seems that while my friend was getting gas, he locked his keys in his running car and had to talk the gas station attendant into driving him home to get his spare set. At 2 am I arrive home, after four and a half hours waiting for gang retribution, my extremities to freeze and snap off, and our helpful men in blue to find the perfect doughnut, I was finally in a warm bed...only to wake up 4 hours later to meet the towtruck on the coldest morning ever after the coldest night....he was only 2 hours late this time.
Mr Pants...that entire evening was "SO NOT RIGHT"
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