And I don’t mean Brooklyn Academy of Music. The jolt was like the ones you got in the bumper cars at Willow Point Park when your friend slammed you in the rear. We were turning left into Jeff and Mary Kaye’s driveway and we weren’t quick enough for the driver behind us. He/she closed the gap and clipped the right rear corner of our car. Took the whole section of the car that holds the taillight right off. And he kept going into the night. When the Monroe County Sheriff showed up he said, “Welcome to 2018.”
We tried to shake it off and got down to business. Jeff’s stereo was acting up. His amp kept turning off. I plan to bring my old one there next time. He clicked on a Flash update and inadvertently installed something that gave him error messages but it wouldn’t come up while we were out there. His Airport extreme, a device Apple no longer makes, was flashing yellow. I opened Airport utility and updated the firmware. Mary Kaye never got an Apple id when she bought her phone so she was signed in as Jeff and was getting all his work related email. Peggi set Mary Kaye up we with her own id. Jeff’s Pages docs were all showing invisibles.Jeff didn’t know what they were. They look like the old typesetter marks and “Show Invisibles” was turned on. I turned it off. Last on the list was getting Jeff’s photos on his tv. You have to have the Photos app open before you can find them from your tv.
We drove home with one taillight and made it. Peggi installed the Allstate app, took photos of the damage and we expect a quote for repair tomorrow. They cover most of the cost for a car rental so we walked up to Enterprise and came home with a little white thing from Korea.
2 Comments
Glad you guys are OK.
The Element is a uniquely utilitarian buggy that is part army jeep, part hauler of miscellany and yet allows passengers to wear 10 gallon hats with ease. Barbara and I remember ours fondly.
As I reflected on your dilemma it launched my memories of cars come and gone. There was the ’55 Dodge panel wagon that I bought for $50 and four months later abandoned on the side of a backcountry road. Foolish youth. I thought of our current Chevy Suburban, known with some affection as “The White Whale”. Rugged, room for six drum kits, and it is an instant flash-back machine with its 1999 maroon interior appointments. Until the repair bills get a lot higher, Barbara loves to drive it (we both try to ignore the beastly fuel consumption). Oh, added feature: the barn doors on the back of the Suburban are perfect for pretending you are an ambulance driver. The solid slam is so convincing as you race off making siren sounds in your mind.
Very high on my favorites list is a late eighties Alfa Romeo Snort Coupe (actually Sport Coupe when you work to untangle the hideous typeface used on the fender of this model). I bought it from a local painter; she must have been even more cash strapped than I back then. This car would be unsuitable for you two because there would only be room for Peggi’s instrument case and maybe a music stand but, oh my god, just to slip into the driver’s seat was nearly orgasmic. The leather seats hugged you, the gear shifter was like butter, and the dials told you that this machine was alive! Unfortunately it was necessary to rev the engine to three thousand rpms to prevent a stall.
Once a cabinetmaker who worked for me cut the tip of his finger. It turned out to be no big deal but we didn’t know it at the time. I pushed him into the passenger seat and bolted down St Paul Street toward the emergency room. I believe revving that coupe at every light before lurching forward in traffic made him forget about his injury. It was a car only a romantic could love.
My current ride, a Miata roadster – also from 1999 – now tops my list as my all-time finest driving experience. Just flipping the ignition has the effect of pushing all distractions to the curb. It is my ultimate Be Here Now hardware. Although I think you two would look great in your own two seater I’m afraid you would need a roadie crew for your gear.
I was a huge fan of my two Mini Cooper S’s as well but, unless Bob Martin can convince you that the drums could be crammed into a Clubman, that’s probably not realistic. My only concern is that you will end up with a banal looking rig from south-east Asia factory that could easily be lost in a sea of like looking units. How about a Tesla?
There are a million favorite car stories in the naked city. These are but a few of them.