Lucky/Unlucky...50º

Back in the 50's, it was common for farm kids to be driving at the age of 10 and I was no exception, as I followed my Dad around Valley County, Idaho (mostly on back roads...)He on the John Deere tractor pulling the JD wire tie baler and I in either an old pontiac station wagon or a ford, ton truck with a 2 speed transmission...My height only reached 5'2", so I suppose it was a stretch for me to reach the peddles and see over the steering wheel at the same time...But I managed and also learned to double clutch and properly shift the 2 speed transmission...Luckily I didn't have or cause any accidents and when my Dad bought a '57 chevy sedan, automatic transmission, I had no trouble driving it through my high school years...Not until about 8 years ago, when a deer ran in front of my subaru outback, with no way for me to avoid her, did I have my first accident...Two years later another deer ran into the side of my car for accident number 2...I felt lucky that neither of these accidents caused me bodily harm, although both deer were not so lucky.

The point of all this blathering is:..Yesterday Pats car was at Alpine Auto for routine maintenance and I was the designated driver for our weekly yard saling...Things were going smoothly with her reading the map and the YS list, a beautiful sunny day, we finished up the 2nd yard sale and headed back to the car...She checking the list again and I ready to start the car, saw a truck backing out of his parking space, directly across the road from us...He had plenty of room, but instead of turning as he backed, he came straight across the road, I hit the horn, but to no avail...He did hit the brakes but it was too late and it all unfolded in slow motion as I heard the sickening crunch and felt the impact, when the one ton truck connected with my left hand door and fender...Damn!!!

Pat was out of the car in an instant and I heard her asking in dismay, "Didn't you hear the horn?"...I on the other hand, I sat for a few minutes, getting a pad and pen to take down info, before I tried to open my door, knowing it was munched...I was able to squeeze out of the door, where the other driver was waiting, he willingly wrote down all of his info, apologized profusly, took down my name and number so he could contact me to make sure things were going okay with his insurance company...Again no one was injured, the car was driveable...We "hit" a couple more yard sales, went to Safeway and made another stop in Joseph, as I was in the process of buying a set of tires and rims, that were advertised on FB's swap and shop...Only then did we go home.

I spent the afternoon going back to Enterprise to Farmers Insurance, getting guidence to proceed with a claim, then to Neils Body Shop, for an estimate of the damage...And also a stop at Schawbs, hauling a tire around in the back of my car to see if buying the tires was in my best interest...Now the waiting game begins...I have insurance forms and will call the other insurance company, probably on Monday, after I get the estimate of damage on my subaru...And yes, I offered CASH and bought the tires...Back home, Herb becoming a pro on his new grill, was BBQing ribs for our dinner...I sat in a daze on our lovely deck and with a smile on my face said, "A glass of wine would taste really good right now."

I think I have been very lucky all these years, maybe in the wrong place at the wrong time in the last 8 years, but still lucky that a car is fixable and no bodily harm was done...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

PS...The ribs were delicious!

The Damage

The Truck