Put a Period on This One.

 Did you read HERE about my car? 

Now, everything is okay, but not in the way I expected.
I assumed there would be a very detailed investigation.

I really thought Perry Mason or Columbo would come to 

the scene to take measurements, etc. to

determine who was at fault for the Chick Fil A incident.

Since the other driver was backing up and therefore

had extra culpability, and since she bent my 

license plate in half as she backed past me,

 I knew Perry or, ...what was

Columbo's first name?...would readily declare me the

innocent victim.

Well, I called Allstate yesterday to see when I could

expect my check!

I can expect all I want to, but I'm not getting one!

They denied responsibility!

No Columbo, no Perry, no check!

I got very irate, and the agent remained very nice,

but all to no avail.

So...I called my insurance agent.  I assumed

that if Allstate denied, my insurance would have to

pay for the perpetrator's car.

Wrong.

If there's a difference in stories, and no witnesses or video

(Chick Fil A has cameras, but not one aimed where
 the accident occurred) 
evidently BOTH insurance companies

can deny responsibility!

The bad news is, if my car had significant damage,

my insurance company would handle it as if

it were struck by an uninsured motorist.

That would mean I would pay another $250!

The good news?  I can just get a new license plate

holder, and I'm good to go!

I did learn another lesson from this incident.
I don't know that it would have made any difference
in this particular case,
but I should have hopped out and taken a 
picture of the cars while they were still in crash position.
The location of impact would support my
story that the other driver was backing all the
way across the lot--not just turning to back in.

Oh...and the other driver has not even tried to
make a claim against my insurance...

My mother would not allow me to use word "liar,"
but
when last seen, she had smoke coming from her
pants.

  

What's With My Car?

 There's something weird about my car.

It doesn't look weird.

Well, that's not true.  It does right now and periodically.

That's the problem.

My car is a shiny black 2012 Infiniti G25.  

It will not be 1 year old until October 27th, 2013.

Some of you might recall that before it was 4 months old,

it was backed into at the Martin High School curb

 with me sitting in it waiting to give Susannah her lunch.

  "Minor" damage set me back $250 because

the perpetrator was a 52 year old uninsured motorist.

Shortly thereafter, a wandering shopping cart struck

it in the Wal Mart parking lot. 

Not just a scratch--a small dent.

Price to have fixed--around $125, so I'm just

living with that one.

It's a leased car, so hope to pass that one off

as "normal wear and tear."

Then Sarah and I drove it to Fossil Rim, where the 

aoudads' horns did a number on my rear view mirrors.

Now, as you can clearly see, this was Sarah's fault.

JUST KIDDING!!!

The scratches were (still are) worse on my side!

These particular ones were worth it!

Those aoudads were soooo cute, and we had such fun!

But...aoudad horns...normal wear and tear?

That may be a tough sell.

Then, last week after turning into the same garage

for 28 years, I somehow made a slight miscalculation.

I raked my front fender on the frame of the garage door.

I absolutely can't believe I did that, but I did.

The garage had been freshly painted--a light color--

so this one looked horrendous.

We need to stop a minute and consider what happens 

every time another boo boo gets inflicted upon my car.

I make a bee line for Precision Auto Body and

cry on the shoulders of my best friends, 

Andy and Bruce.

 I now just pull up in front of their door, and

out they come.

They didn't have to be shown that last one.

Gobs of "creamy mushroom" paint is hard to

miss on a black car.

The GOOD NEWS:  

 This one could just be buffed off!

That was last week.

Prepare yourself.

Yesterday I wheeled into the Chick Fil A drive thru

for lunch.

A car ahead of me turned into a parking place on

the left (headed into the building.)

Instantaneously, the car shot backward, toward me.

I stopped and frantically honked my horn, cause it was 

headed straight for me!

The driver never acknowledged me in any way 

and definitely was gunning it.

(She was backing all the way across to back into

a parking spot on the right side.)

I honked twice more, as she impacted the front

of my car.  I was so frustrated and angry,

but I just dialed 911.

(I was afraid it might be an uninsured driver again,

and Andy had told me Arlington is very strict

on uninsured drivers--often even towing their cars.)

As the 911 operator was talking to me, a lovely

female Arlington police officer came out of

Chick Fil A and appeared at my window.  

She helped facilitate the exchange of information,

which was helpful since the other driver

did not speak a lot of English.

But...she did have insurance!

I got my lunch, and guess where I headed.

Yep, Precision Auto Body.

But remember, friends, I was just there last week.

This time all humor was gone.

There is good news, however. 

The main damage to my car was to my license plate

(bent in half)

and to my heavy license plate holder.

(also bent in half!)

This is the other car:

Here the car is in the parking place the driver

 was aiming for--with just a little crash intervening.

 

As I upload these pictures from my phone and post

them, I am struck again by how much

worse this could have been.

Of course, the other driver is saying I hit her.

I was, in fact, sitting dead still, honking!

The fact that she was backing up without properly

checking behind her should be the deciding factor.

I hope so.

I'll let you know.

I certainly hope this craziness stops.

My lease is for 39 months!