Ponyman66
Yak, yak, yak
Wow, I was on a roll for the 2nd day in a row working on the coupe. Great day..or so I thought! Before I went outside my son called me up asking to borrow my truck. He said he wanted to go to my mom's and help her pick up her new washing machine. No problem, come by and get it. When he got to my house I told him, whatever you do DON'T wreck it! The only other time he used it was to move into his house. While backing up he bumped the receiver hitch cover, cracking it (it was just plastic, no big deal). Having had a problem before I figured I had no worries, he'd be EXTRA careful this time. After working on my Mustang for several hours I thought it a little strange he wasn't back yet. No problem, his grandmother probably had him helping with a few other things.
A little while later I thought I heard someone pull up to my house. I was just fitting a patch to the roof of my coupe when in walks his fiance. NOT a good thing! She told me my son asked her to come by and get me. OH SH%T! She told me there had been an incident with my truck at my mom's house. I rode down with her and walked into my mom's backyard. There was my truck parked halfway inside the rear gate. I noticed the right side was REALLY close to the gate for the fence. When I walked up low and behold, there was a deep gouge down the bedside and the rear passenger door (my truck is an F150 supercab). The right rear tire was also flat. It seems that after dropping off the new washing machine my mom wanted him to take the old one and some other stuff to the landfill. WHY in the world he had gone into the backyard is beyond me. It woulda been closer through the front gate. With both gates open though it's a 12 foot wide opening! He cut it close to the fence while pulling out and turning to the right. He didn't bother to watch the right side. The bolts for the gate hinges stick out about 6" on the upper and lower hinges (thanks to my mom's idiot ex-boyfriend!). The upper bolt got the side of the truck and the lower one got the sidewall of the tire, tearing it open. :rant
Needless to say, I was PI$$ED!! Then my mom started making excuses for my son which ticked me off more. I told them to just go away and leave me alone. I then changed the tire by myself (so I could burn off the desire to knock the crap out of something or someone!). I told my son to get in his fiance's car and follow up to help unload the truck. I was severely torqued for quit a few hours. While the damage to the side of my truck was enough to make me angry, the tire was the BIG kicker! I had just bought tires for the truck in Feb. Due the fact I put very few miles on it, the tire had less than 2000 miles on them. They were also some expensive Michelins and what's worse, they were the last ones anyone could locate in the U.S. for that size and model. They were Cross Terrains and Michelin has discontinued them!
I really wanted another set when I needed tires. The last set gave me over 90k and they had just gotten down to the wear bars! The wife went to get them for me, but knowing they were discontinued I had said to get the replacement model. She called me from the store and said if I wanted the Cross Terrains, the store could get me a full set (two came from Texas and the other two had to come from Alaska.....I kid you not!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed they can find me just one more, though I'm not holding out any hope. I also have to get with one of my close friends who works at a body shop to see about helping me out with the body damage.
I said very little to my son during and after the whole thing. He was also smart enough to stay away from me. He did apologize before leaving my house. I also told him he would NEVER borrow my truck again! I did call him several hours later to tell him not to dwell on it. What's done is done, it can't be UN-done! I also know he's not in any position to pay for anything right now having just bought his house several months back. The wife let me vent for a few hours and that helped me out. I guess this little rant also helps. Kids..whata ya gonna do with them?!!!
BTW, needless to say I didn't get anything else done to my car today. As ticked off as I was, I was afraid I'd lose my patience and screw something up, further ruining my day!!
A little while later I thought I heard someone pull up to my house. I was just fitting a patch to the roof of my coupe when in walks his fiance. NOT a good thing! She told me my son asked her to come by and get me. OH SH%T! She told me there had been an incident with my truck at my mom's house. I rode down with her and walked into my mom's backyard. There was my truck parked halfway inside the rear gate. I noticed the right side was REALLY close to the gate for the fence. When I walked up low and behold, there was a deep gouge down the bedside and the rear passenger door (my truck is an F150 supercab). The right rear tire was also flat. It seems that after dropping off the new washing machine my mom wanted him to take the old one and some other stuff to the landfill. WHY in the world he had gone into the backyard is beyond me. It woulda been closer through the front gate. With both gates open though it's a 12 foot wide opening! He cut it close to the fence while pulling out and turning to the right. He didn't bother to watch the right side. The bolts for the gate hinges stick out about 6" on the upper and lower hinges (thanks to my mom's idiot ex-boyfriend!). The upper bolt got the side of the truck and the lower one got the sidewall of the tire, tearing it open. :rant
Needless to say, I was PI$$ED!! Then my mom started making excuses for my son which ticked me off more. I told them to just go away and leave me alone. I then changed the tire by myself (so I could burn off the desire to knock the crap out of something or someone!). I told my son to get in his fiance's car and follow up to help unload the truck. I was severely torqued for quit a few hours. While the damage to the side of my truck was enough to make me angry, the tire was the BIG kicker! I had just bought tires for the truck in Feb. Due the fact I put very few miles on it, the tire had less than 2000 miles on them. They were also some expensive Michelins and what's worse, they were the last ones anyone could locate in the U.S. for that size and model. They were Cross Terrains and Michelin has discontinued them!
I really wanted another set when I needed tires. The last set gave me over 90k and they had just gotten down to the wear bars! The wife went to get them for me, but knowing they were discontinued I had said to get the replacement model. She called me from the store and said if I wanted the Cross Terrains, the store could get me a full set (two came from Texas and the other two had to come from Alaska.....I kid you not!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed they can find me just one more, though I'm not holding out any hope. I also have to get with one of my close friends who works at a body shop to see about helping me out with the body damage.
I said very little to my son during and after the whole thing. He was also smart enough to stay away from me. He did apologize before leaving my house. I also told him he would NEVER borrow my truck again! I did call him several hours later to tell him not to dwell on it. What's done is done, it can't be UN-done! I also know he's not in any position to pay for anything right now having just bought his house several months back. The wife let me vent for a few hours and that helped me out. I guess this little rant also helps. Kids..whata ya gonna do with them?!!!
BTW, needless to say I didn't get anything else done to my car today. As ticked off as I was, I was afraid I'd lose my patience and screw something up, further ruining my day!!
