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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Some guy from Britewood totaled out my old '93 Aerostar van about ten to five this evening. It was parked behind the shop. I heard the crash, I was only 30 feet away inside the shop working on a Dodge Neon. Glad I wasn't in it.
He hit that SOB in the ass really hard with a little Ranger pickup, then hit a tree dead center. Knocked my van about 15 feet & it was in park (& it's 4WD). Still runs but the left rear corner & rear hatch is GONE! So are all the windows back there.
It bruised him up pretty good & bloodied his mouth but he had his seat belt on, good thing! He also has insurance, another good thing.
Kathie has been after me to get a new van, I guess this is a good time to start shopping for one. It was in good shape, air, cruise, 4WD & ran great but I'll be lucky to get $3K out of it. I was the hit-ee, so I have more leverage with the insurance company.
Looks like I'll be driving the Jeep for a while.
This is the night I usually go to Bend to the mall after work. I'm REALLY glad I didn't have two of my Ovations in the back like I normally might have. They would have been smashed.
Luckily (?) I wasn't going tonight. I strained a pectoral muscle pretty bad last week sanding bondo at the body shop. (We've been really busy ever since the two feet of snow melted.)
I told the chiropractor "It hurts when I do this..." He said "Don't do that!"
Then he gave it a going over with the ultrasound magic wand thinger, his receptionist lady billed my credit card $70 & told me to come back Friday. Hopefully Blue Cross will pick up the rest.
Unfortunately, not only sanding bondo but also playing a guitar really exacerbates the problem. Dammy. I'll have to stay away from guitars for a little while. I sure hope the ultrasound fixes it before next Wednesday, that's when my 1115 Pacemaker 12 string is supposed to arrive! If it's still sore Wednesday night it's going to be worse Thursday morning.
Nils |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 420
Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | That was a close call. What was the guy's story about how it happened. |
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January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Nils, that sorta thing really pisses me off.
Here we have a huge problem with road debris and truckers.
In the last 5 years, I have hit a load of firewood that fell off a trailer two lanes over from me on the interstate (bent rim). A load of plywood that fell off a "lowboy" semi trailer right smack in front of me. And lastly, I had a sixteen inch section of 4x4 come through my windshield when it fell off an 18 wheeler going in the opposite direction. Total cost to me nearly nearly $2000, considering I cant get my deductable back, and not all my out of pocket expenses were covered by insurance.
I feel for ya.
"..... It bruised him up pretty good & bloodied his mouth...."
I sincerely hope you go to finish the job for him before the cops arrive. |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle Tacoma Washington | Nils,
I am very glad that neither you nor your Ovations were in the van when that happened. I have an old 1115-4, and always look forward to playing it. It plays like 6 and sounds like 12!!! I usually play a 6774 Folklore and the neck is the same width. Have fun!! Glad you are OK!!!
Glenn :) :) |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Actually I felt sorry for the guy. He was really sorry about the whole thing & he's going to be really sore. At least he wasn't an illegal alien with no drivers license or insurance.
He said he bent over to retrieve an envelope off the floor (in the middle of a lot of traffic, duh) & when he looked up-WHAM!
Oh well, I'll get enought out of it for a good down on a new van of some sort. Maybe I can get one of those jobs that have the automatic folding seats in back. :)
We need seats for hauling grandkids & nephews & no-seats so I can haul guitars & model airplanes. Moving the old seats in & out was a PITA.
No Van Nils |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Good to hear that your OK and the fellow has insurance, you might look at Suburbans if you can find one in good shape for a decent price, I sure like my GMC that I bought after I was T boned in my mini van and I feel a lot safer and more comfortable.
Bailey |
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Nils,
Glad you weren't part of the collision. I'd hate to see our Northwest OFC gathering take place in your Hospital room! Things break, rust and get totaled. Hope your aches and pains mov on too.
I can remember laying in my Chiropractor's office some years back looking out the window at his Corvette and his BMW. I haven't been back! I found stretches and exercises to put myself back in line! Spend the $70 on a real massage.
Peace |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Thanks Mike but the ultrasound is working, my shoulder is feeling much better today after the second treatment. Now it only costs $20 a buzz. One more Monday. Hopefully I'll be ready to tear into my 1115 by Wednesday.
The lady at DMV told me the guy that hit my van yesterday was in the hospital. I called his work this morning but they told me he didn't go in today. I was dropping off my accident report this afternoon & she said his wife was in earlier to pick one up for him & told her he was in there. I went up to see him but he had been discharged not long before I got there.
I told him last night he was going to be hurting a LOT more for the next few days. I've been in more bike & car wrecks than I can remember. I know all about it. Mostly bike wrecks. I would probably remember more of 'em but fortunately most of the time I was drunk. :)
I quit drinking years ago & this is my first wreck since, so far I haven't felt any pain at all from it other than the shoulder that hurt already anyway. Used to be I'd have a hangover the day after a wreck too, I don't miss those either.
/\/\/ |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Nils, clean is good! The effects of alcohol run rampant in my families history. A lot of pain and impact. It's hard to know what normal is sometimes.
Now, as an Ovationaholic - we meet more often and it's legal! |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | My family too Mike.
We went to Bend & bought another van today- '99 Dodge half ton, F.I. inline 6, air, cruise, power everything but seats, tilt, 51K. It's a conversion van. We got it from the Hertz used car lot. Very clean & the back couch/seat folds into a bed/model airplane holding spot. Between the couch & the one swivel captain chair in back there's room for two people to sit back there & play guitars. Since it only has one captain chair in the back there's some open floor space. I might take that one out, might leave it in. I'll see how it goes when I try to put in airplanes & guitar cases. I filled it with gas & set the trip thing to check the mileage. I'm guessing 16-19. It's got pretty noisy tires on it. I might sell 'em to somebody with a 4WD & get a set of Toyo all seasons for it. It sits kinda high, looks like a 4WD but it isn't. I'm going to miss having a 4WD van but ya' can't have everything.
I do have to get a CD player for it. It has a good sound system with extra speakers & stuff but the cassette player has to go or at least be supplemented with a CD player.
I also noticed it has a pretty serious oil leak when I looked under it out in the driveway a few minutes ago. I'm sure they'll fix it. If they don't I'll give it back, I haven't given them a dime yet. :)
Nils
Update: They already called me back. Asked me when I could bring it back to get it fixed. I told him "Hahahaha!" Then I asked him when they could come & pick it up, becuase I'm not taking a day off work to go get it fixed 42 miles away. I told him "I work on commission too & we're busy as hell." He understood that fine. I can take it to the main repair shop in my area & have it fixed & they'll pay for it. That's more like it. The guys that run the local shop are very good & also very good friends of mine. I'll have 'em check everything over under there. If it has any more problems they'll spot 'em. If they find anything I'll call that guy back & we'll get everything fixed up. Like I said, I haven't given 'em a dime yet. :) |
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Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Nils
Sounds good if you can get it fixed to your satisfaction, as to 4WD, I have never owned one and I have went anywhere I've ever wanted. That Xfer case and extra driven axle are just extra weight and sources of extremely expensive breakdown that will ruin any advantage they might give. Today there are passable roads to almost every where and the ghost towns are gone, wiped out by the antique thieves.
Bailey |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | It will be all fixed. The guys at the mech. shop are very good friends of mine. I posted a picture of the Aerostar in my gallery just for the hell of it. (Temporarily, I'll delete it in a week or so.) Check it out.
Hey Bailey, did you miss the part about 2 feet of snow here most of last winter? :) The 4WD in the old van was really great in the snow. We need 4WD all the time up here. I've gotten our 4WD Dodge diesel pickup that we pull our jet boat around with stuck. Several times. In the summer. It has a 12,000 winch on the front & we need that too occasionally. Sometimes we launch the jet sled in places on the river that aren't exactly boat launch ramps. The truck weighs 6,500 lbs & the boat & trailer weigh another 3,500. I never launch unless I'm well within 150 feet of a BIG tree, I want to know I can get it all back out of the river. Our other rig is a CJ-5. It has a winch too. I'll probably be driving it next winter, at least part of the time! :)
/\/\/ |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Nils
I keep forgetting why I left Ohio in 1962 for Ca-Lee-Forn-E-Ya until you mention those snowdrifts. I have restricted my travelling to warmer climes. Sounds like the Van will be the summer vehicle. |
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June 2002
Posts: 1614
Location: Converse, Texas | I don't EVEN wanna talk about illegals with no insurance. My wife was rear-ended in our minivan three times in two years. Two of the three were uninsured. The last one (uninsured) totaled the van! |
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Wham!