Was on the phone last night to one of my closest friends (in AA) and we were shooting the breeze, getting caught up and I was telling him how great my life had been for the last year, since right after July 4th as a matter of fact...we hang up and I hear this horrific crash outside, I mean loud, peeling tires, breaking glass, it sounded like a freeway pile up, so I go outside and there is a large SUV entangled in my Jeep, it manages to extricate itself and run for it.

 

My Jeep (which I love dearly, it and my Mercedes are far and away my two favorite cars I have ever owned...well except for a few others lol) is totaled.

 

Totaled, doors can't open, rear door obliterated, quarter panel -gone- just wedged against the tire, never seen anything like outside a freeway pile up, like a bad one, we call 911 and are talking to them giving the description of the car, location, direction it's heading and License number. It's driving 60 easy, peeling out, driving dangerously, the police inform us they won't send a cruiser nor investigate it in any way shape or form, that I should fill out an online report, so I do and then call back to ask "what now?"

They refuse to investigate saying "they can't prove it was him driving", that it's my responsibility to track him down and go after a civil lawsuit...

So I say the serenity prayer a few times, watch some Dexter, put it out of my mind until morning, now mind you, this is a deal breaker, I commute well over 600 miles a week and no way I am commuting in the mercedes, it's 40 years old and unreliable in super hot weather, has to do with the ancient computer mapping on the fuel injection system which is so innovative for it's time it was literally taken off a Jet and slapped on a car (D-Jet Jetronic system), which means - Primitive by todays standards.

 

Anyhow, I clean up all the broken glass, try the Police again, same answer, basically "it sucks to be you", back the Jeep up near a tree and spend four hours tugging on various points with a come along, I stretched it out enough for the doors to open, went and bought and replaced the brake light assemblies, stretched it around until I could open and close the rear door, basically got the car drivable, then tracked down a new rear door and bumper I will pick up Wednesday.

Problems like this have a way of sorting themselves out, the sun will come up tomorrow and I will go to work, it's not worth the wasted energy of the drama I could attach to it. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't even speak last night, my life was...ruined...over...I was screwed, but I just took deep breaths and set it aside until I could come at it at dawns early light, went straight to solution and Bob's your uncle.

Don't sweat the small stuff, and with the exception of a death in the family or colon cancer, it's all pretty much small stuff. This also follows my sisters child being taken by CPS and my name put at the top of a very short list to raise her, an autistic 7 year old, once again, live in the now and do the next right thing, we'll see how this plays out, I never signed up to raise my sisters special needs daughter but will do so if circumstances permit/are right/it's whats best for the child...I don't know how to be a father much less of a special needs child so I do what I learned in the Program, share about it, ask for help and guidance, and do the next right thing.

Life by the inch is a cinch, life by the yard is hard.

 

Life still happens when we get sober, the world can still deal us grievous blows and our "God" can be capricious, cruel or just...whatever, it's just we don't have to get loaded or be an ass about it, grace under pressure is a great gift of sobriety, even if it's because of total system failure lol, this way I don't have 9th step amends to make in addition to everything else going on in my life

Sorry for your loss Andrew, but also happy for your gain.Another of lifes happenings that brings you to your continued choice of implementing some spiritual principles or wallowing in the mire.A positive affirmation,on how we  choose to accept situations beyond our control...Hopefully ,whoever it was didn't kill someone on that journey.Thanks for sharing.I know during my 25 year reign of terror I hit a car on a street ,ripped the whole side of my car off(like a commercial you see on the inner looks of a frame) and somehow got home.Next day police arrived but couldn't prove I was driving,only God's grace I didnt kill someone(numerous times)a story we can probably all share about in one form or another.Glad your physically and spiritually okay,mentally probably take a little more(keep it on me here anyyway...:) I don't believe much in coincidences(meeting the cop) so good luck with your camera and "detective' work...

Thanks for sharing LB - life does have a habit of throwing us a sneaky one.

Everything goes well up here in my new home, I'm settling into the fellowship, making contacts, have a lovely home, clean, warm and comfortable, my divorce is complete (save a little financial embuggerance), I can't afford to buy this place and I only have a 6 month let on it, but no worries, there are plenty places round here to rent, the landlord has overpriced the house by about £30k, it's been on the market for 2 years and he hasn't had any offers - so no rush for me then.

I got my 30 year old hifi back, it works and is still capable of blowing the windows out

I got my 30 year old motorbike back too and my brother and his son will restore it for me

I've got over another relationship breakup, without too much pain and having learnt some lessons.

The river at the back of the house rises and falls by 3 to 4 feet when it rains, but there's still no danger of me flooding out.

It's still raining and has done solid for over a week
I have food in the cupboard, money in the bank and clothes on my back....

So yesterday, while everything was going so well, I decided on a run out on the bike to Oban. I've been using the bike several times a week, either commuting into Glasgow or going round the meetings. I get as far as Tyndrum, stop for the best coffee and bacon roll in Tyndrum (there's only 2 cafes and the other is shite), come back to the bike and go to start it...........nuthin'. Bone flat battery, after the battery being on the battery conditioner all the time, after a 60 mile thrash to tyndrum, nuthin', which suggests that either the charging system isn't or there's a current drain somewhere.

After a Basil Fawlty moment or two, another smoke or three and a time out on the bench..........call the recovery people, wait two hours, have a pleasant journey back with a 70 year old guy driving the van.....decide to charge the battery, wash teh bike and trade it in for summat else....

An evening trawling t'internet later and I realise there is nothing in Scotland that excites me like this bike - well nothing I can afford anyway, so it's calm down time again, find an aprilia dealer, get the brute up there and tell them the problem, let them fix it......it's still a great bike, 9 years old, 55000 miles, owes me nothing, if I threw it away it would have cost me around £600 a year for all that fun............so maybe outside help on this one, maybe I have to accept that I'm not the mechanical genius I think I am.....

the Jeeps progress

 

Day One: Asssessing the damage, I pulled it in my driveway so didn't get any side shots where the damage and hole in the car was more visible

 

-- Edited by LinBabaAgo-go on Thursday 12th of July 2012 04:28:34 PM

Finished painting the new parts, more come along and hammer work, applied some duct tape until I can save more money and go cut a quarter panel off another Jeep and replace this one (a trick I learned from restoring my Mercedes)

 

 

 

 

-- Edited by LinBabaAgo-go on Thursday 12th of July 2012 08:23:02 PM

Wow, LinBaba, ...

I'm impressed with your skills ... the damage above looked easily like 2, maybe 3 grand to fix ... for you to get it this far on a couple a hundred is truly amazing ...

Any progress getting a hold of the guy that did it? ...

Hey LinBaba, ... You sure you're not in the wrong business??? .... You look pretty damn good at this body stuff ...

Great job man ... ... ... SEE ??? ... ... ... Aren't you grateful to the dude that ran into it now ??? ... ... ... You got to 'show off' your skills!!!

Great job ... But I can't help but wonder what it would look like if you'd had your old friend alcohol helping with the project!!! ... LOL ... You surely wouldn't have been this far along with the fix than you are now ... LOL

Waiting for the Paint Store to open to get the final paint mixed up and sprayed on, then the 3-4 coats of clear lacquer then buffing, almost done.

 

I've spent as much if not more time sanding and buffing that one little area then the whole rest of the project put together, but almost done, not bad for a Rookie

 

Way to go man, ... fantastic job ... I've done a little 'body work' in the past, it's hard work and it's definitely an acquired skill ... My 'paint jobs' always sucked ... and at the price some of that paint costs, I couldn't afford to do that stuff for a living ... (well, I could do a decent job, but being the alcoholic 'perfectionist' I am ... I was never satisfied ... heehee)

You job looks great from where I sit, and I don't see any 'runs' either ... LOL

Pappy

I wish I knew how to upload pictures.