Auto Angst

OK, I'm not sure what sort of automotive god Bryant and I have made mad, but whoever it is, he is royally ticked off! Other than failing to change my oil in a timely manner, I have committed no great offense, and unless a junky-beyond-belief truck is a sin, Bryant has walked the straight and narrow automotive line as well. Nevertheless, last Saturday, I rear-ended someone on Bowman Road. It was only at about 10 miles an hour, and I was slamming on the brakes, but the damage was done. Thankfully, the guy I hit was driving a big Ford truck. His truck was not even scratched. He even said, "Well, I can't really see where you hit me." Lucky for my driving record, not so lucky for my Camry. The hood is all scrunched up, the grill fell off, and there is a perfect indentation of his trailer hitch in my bumper. But it's OK. I have needed a new car for some time now, and this has been the perfect catalyst to make that happen.

So Bryant and I decided we can take that financial hit. It was bound to happen. The car's paid for, and we still have his truck which is in great condition. Oh right, except for that 8 point buck that took out the right side front end and passenger car door!! AAAGGHHHH! Oh yeah, and that happened on Wednesday night. Within 5 days, both of us wreck our cars? What crazy planets had to be aligned for this to happen?

Again, we have taken this in stride. Insurance will pay for his truck to be fixed, and, although fixing the Camry is throwing money down the drain, his truck should give us a few more good years. We can handle this.

Unfortunately, destroying the passenger side front end also involved taking out the headlight. No big deal, right? Wrong. Almost 24 hours to the minute, and in almost the exact same spot as the collision (he could see the carcass in the field), Bryant gets pulled over for having only one headlight. Are you kidding me? Is this still a crime? We don't even have car inspections in this state. Can this possibly be a ticketable offense, you ask? Why yes, it can. And to the tune of 200 and something dollars!

And to top off a ridiculously unlucky transportation week, some idiot pulls out in front of me on Coleman Blvd while I was on my way home Friday night. And when I say idiot, I mean IDIOT! It is one thing to pull out and keep going. You know you've done wrong, but you gun it and life goes on. This idiot pulls out halfway, I lay on the horn, and she stops!! WHAT!?!? Don't stop! You only make it worse. Trust me, your little wave of apology that you want me to see does not make up for the facts that I have seen my life flash before me (again), and so has the guy behind me, who is equally as furious as I am. But what can you do? Nothing. So I sit there, impotently fuming as I put my now shaky foot back on the accelerator, and she goes on her merry way.

I might look into riding CARTA. It can't be worse than last week!