As today is my Friday off (I get every other Friday off), I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing day working off my to do list. I had lots of catch up work to do on the four computers scattered around the house. Suzanne was going to get on the riding mower and cut the field grass on our property.
Well, she had problems getting going as she couldnt get the mower to start. The battery was dead. As it turns out, she had left the key in the ignition from last time and it evidently had gotten turned, probably by one of the kids. So, we decided to jump it. Not being a mechanic, I wasnt sure how doable this was since I couldnt tell if the mover battery was a 12 volt or not. Not deterred, Suzanne went ahead and tried to jump it, but nothing happened.
Frustrated, she got on the phone and called our neighbor Larry who is a classic car collector and does a lot of the work himself. Larry came over and promptly jumped the mower with his truck. Not sure what Suzanne (and my less than stellar support) was doing wrong, but anyways it was now running. Suzanne took off on the mower to take care of the yard. Larry jumped back in his truck and started to leave. I began waving to Larry to catch his attention and remind him that Suzanne’s Volvo was parked a short distance behind him. He merrily waved back to me and promptly backed into Suzanne’s car.
The damage isnt too bad but some body work will be required. The worst part is that Larry feels bad now and he shouldnt. Its just a car. The front passenger side corner by the light is crumpled in. The car is driveable. We have an appointment with the dealer on Tuesday. Luckily, they will provide us with a loaner car for free.
About 15 minutes after all that excitement, Suzanne came driving back on the mower and grabbed me. It seems that it was no longer cutting and violently shaking. After some looking it appears that the blade is severally bent and hitting the sidewall. This keeps throwing the belt off too. So, now we got a guy coming to fix the mower.
I did manage to get the computer updates and maintenance work done, so all is well that ends well. Glad I have a scrim (match against another clan) this afternoon with my 158th America’s Army clan.
Saturday, we will celebrate Sean’s birthday. The actual date is Monday. He wants to go to Benihana’s for dinner and then play some putt putt. This will be our first test eating out since moving to the NutriSystem diet.
How sad! I am so sorry to hear about the accident. Glad you will get a loaner while it’s being repaired.
Good luck with the lawn mower!
~Anne
And Happy Birthday, Sean!
Happy 10th Birthday!
~Grandmother
Thanks Anne! The damage isnt too bad, but with cars these days, it will probably still cost a pretty penny. Larry is adamant that he pay for it. I just wish he didnt feel so bad. Here he was helping out and has a bad thing happen.
The lawn mower is due for annual some maintenance anyways, so hopefully it wont be too expensive. The grass is getting out of control with all the monsoon rain.
Mr Papa
Well this day has totally stunk so far.
I really feel bad for Good Samaritain Larry. He was coming to help me and now he’s got to pay for my truck repair!!!
Sorry to hear about the fender bender! Based on the description, I assume this is the Larry I once knew? I guess I had forgotten that he lived up your way. Tell Good Sam Larry I said hello!
On another note, I am working with wordpress to get a website going and have bought the 24-month bluehost package. Cool software! I am fiddling with some different templates…I found one I liked and have altered the banner to be a picture that I took of Mount Mansfield in Vermont (on the farm where I grew up). I also registered as www.theTobins.org. It is very much a work in progress, but feel free to check it out.
Yes, Paul, thats the same Larry. I checked out your site – nice. You can put as much or as little time into that as you want – just ask Suzanne 🙂
Hope things are well in Virginia. Next trip to DC I will give you a shot. You should email me your contact info out there.
Mr Papa
Steve, I stated that I bought wordpress….actually, I bought an account with BlueHost (to host my domain). I used the .org website and loaded wordpress for free.
Poor Volvo. Poor Larry. Poor Mr. Papa and Suzanne. What an unfortunate happening.