Car repairs, part four
So I got to the car and it was fine, not broken into or ticketed. I took a cab there, just to save time. High hopes of it starting were dashed upon turning the ignition key; it cranked but did not start. So I placed the call to AAA and walked around the area. It's a business district and I was able to go to my bank to inquire if my mortgage payment had posted. For some reason, it did not come out on 5/1 as usual. It still had not posted, which in a way was good. Due to the big withdrawals for the car repairs, the balance was lower than typical and possibly would have gone to an overdraft situation, which really means that the overdraft protection would kick in. I've always wondered if using this results in a negative report to the credit bureaus, since you're out of money, but they said it wasn't. It's just using your credit.
The tow truck man showed up at 10 a.m. or so in a flatbed truck. He was a young black guy, 25, very talkative. It must be some kind of racket that tow truck drivers try to direct the disabled vehicle to a shop of their choosing, which he did, but I was on to this game and was hell-bent on going to the shop on Howard. No more chances on the unknown. [Some friends said, "Take it right back to the previous shop and make them fix it." My replies were, "A) Which shop? Two of them failed to fix it." and B) If they couldn't fix it the first time, why give them another chance? That's just setting me up for more frustration. I have to move on. C)And I can't take it back; it has to be towed, which takes time and a service call to AAA."]
The guy told me he used to work in social service and actually worked at the same agency I had once worked at, in the same field, case management. He also had gotten out of it due to burnout. He had a client who was 6 mos behind on his $200/month rent at a public housing facility, but was working and making $47,000 per year, and overspending on material items, gym shoes and such. I didn't ask how the guy qualified to live in housing at that salary; probably he had not had an income review since getting the job.
He also told me that he saw a lot of interesting things on the job, and plenty of angry people, but was able to calm them down. He was right, he did have a charming and lighthearted demeanor, told me I had a lovely voice, asking if I was a teacher. He then took a call from his wife who was taking their daughter to the hospital because she thought the child had swine flu - oh, we're not to call it that now; the proper term is the "H1N1" flu. (Apparently, some pigs placed a defamation of character suit, protesting the depiction of them as the source of the illness, when in fact it is now mostly transmitted from person to person.)
We discussed new cars; he had just bought one himself. A closeout Jeep, for $13K, some $20K below value. Not in demand because it's being discontinued and parts won't be available. I laughed when he said, "I called the dealer and said I had 2 thousand and they said "COME IN. Didn't even let me finish. I could have said I had 2 thousand jelly beans."
He added that any car could break down, even new ones. He launched into a tale of how he was towing someone on the south side, and a sharp-dressed white man jumped into the street in front of his oncoming truck at 55th and State (a lower-income Black community).
He pointed to a new Jaguar-type car in gleaming silver. "He had a car just like that and was yelling and begging, 'Tow me!!! They're going to steal my car! Tow me!'" I said, 'Who?' and he pointed to these two brothers standing on the street, chilling. They weren't even looking at him. And the car wasn't even running!! What were they going to do - push his car down the street??? I told him, 'I have a customer now, but I'll come back and help you after this.' When I got back, he had changed clothes. He'd taken that suit off, and had on workout clothes, shorts and a wifebeater!' [I've never cared for this colloquial term for the white sleeveless undershirt or tank top, but ever since "Cops" has been on TV, it's been called that since the men who are hauled out for domestic violence tended to be wearing them].
I asked how he liked driving such a large vehicle all day long and he said he really did enjoy it and wished he had a truck like this at home. I asked if it was hard to maneuver and he replied, "No. It's just like driving a car with a big butt." Very funny.
Anyhoo, we got to the shop and I checked it in. Told him the whole history, showed the receipts. By this time it was 10:45 and I hadn't gotten much sleep as I had been up late researching new cars and also what could be wrong with the car. George, the owner, told me that it would be a while, and took my number. I got in the car and made some calls. Then I fell asleep in the sunshine in the car for 45 minutes until they were tapping on the window.
"We're going to push it in now. You can go to Target. They have a Starbuck's there...." I bristled at the implication that I needed coffee...he didn't know how much stress this whole situation had caused.
I did take a walk and did some shopping, found a car cushioned seat that not only vibrates on your choice of upper back, lower back and/or seat, and plays your MP3's through it. Normal price is $40, but I got it for $15.
My friend Mary returned my call. Her stepson's wife had suffered a sudden blood clot after surgery and died a month ago, at age 32. She had been fine at home, had just answered the door and let friends in to visit, when boom, she died. Mary said that one of the hardest things is to realize that any of us can be alive one moment and dead the next. Her stepson is still reeling from this loss; they were only married for 3 years and were planning to conceive a baby in June. But he is in his last month of college for his electrical engineering degree and was being supported by his late wife. So somehow, he HAS to pass his finals and finish if he wants to get a job with his father, or he'll have no income. It will be quite a feat for him to put his mind on class....
Mary herself hasn't worked in two years. Her 84-year-old mother has been in poor health and is very frail and needs close supervision, so is living with Mary and her husband, and Mary is providing full-time care. It's actually good, since Mary has been able to spend more time with her, and avoid a nursing home stay. We made plans to meet in the next few weeks, go to Sweet Tomatoes.
George called a few hours later and said that the problem had been the same things that were done on Thursday - distributor cap and rotor. Unlike William, George used genuine Toyota parts, not the bargain basement parts. Today's total came to $202, with $145 of that being labor for diagnosing and fixing it.
I will go to the William's shop next week to complain and demand a refund. After the ordeal, I was exhausted and came home. Immediately, my digestive system responded to the stress and I got stomach pains and diarrhea.
I took a nap for several hours and then got up. Vampire-style, I'm up for the night, off-schedule. I've just done laundry and shortly after midnight, went out for milk.
In the shadows of the nearly empty parking lot, I engaged the vibration of the cushioned seat (back only - sitting on vibration is kind of distracting), plugged in "MyPod" and drove around the lot, appreciating a running car. And being alive.
A two-fer. Cool.