A Little o’ This, And A Lot o’ That
A lot has happened while you were gone, as in this past week. Last Friday was my official retirement from aerospace. And this time I mean it. Second time is the charm. Just blue skies and clear sailing. Saturday was great. Sunday was another story altogether.
Sunday’s weather was glorious. The water was flat, the sun was shining – a perfect day to be out on the water in our newly reworked 20 foot boat. We had spent most of last summer and this spring replacing floor boards, rebuilding a bench seat and getting a comprehensive outboard engine service. We had put new tires on the trailer and greased the buddy bearings. Everything was shipshape. Then came the unexpected.
Since selling our beach home, the boat is stored at my oldest son’s house. The plan was to rendezvous with him at the boat launch. Only one problem – he never got that far. After pulling into the local gas station to top off the gas in the boat, he pulled out of the station driveway onto 6th Ave in Tacoma, a five-lane thoroughfare. That’s when he heard it – CRUNCH! BANG! SCRAPE! Only going about five miles an hour, he still could feel a definite drag from the trailer. Looking in the mirror he was mortified to see the boat lurching to one side and the trailer all out of kilter. Kelly had no choice but to stop in the middle of the road.
It didn’t take much inspection to figure this one out. The right leaf spring had snapped in half, thereby creating enough force to shear the bolts holding the axle in place. The solid axle had rotated aft so the right wheel was now under the boat’s transom and the left wheel was twisted at a 30 degree angle. Not going boating today!
Ninety minutes later we had the trailer, boat and all, on a flatbed and were unloading it in front of his house. Guess it’s time to call the insurance agent.
So, it was on to plan B. Let’s find a local beach, have a picnic and hang out. That’s just what the six of us did. We had a fun time picnicking under the full shade of a great tree, combing the beach, skipping rocks, finding little treasures and floating lazily near shore. As four o’clock quickly arrived we decided to pack up, walk the quarter-mile access road back to the car and start thinking about dinner. As our minds were wandering through imaginary menus, a policeman suddenly appeared brandishing an AK-47 and walking quickly and purposefully towards us. He asks if we’ve seen any strange activity or anyone carrying a gun. We thankfully say no. A few seconds later another cop comes jogging around the corner with his 9mm in hand. We don’t bother asking any questions. It’s clear he’s on the same mission. By the time we get to the road there are sirens, at least seven cop cars and a lot of activity. We feel we timed things just right leaving when we did. Maybe something did go right for us today after all….
Monday was another day full of surprises. I was in Bellevue dropping my sports car off to finish some annual maintenance. I had picked it up from them on Friday to have new front tires installed on Saturday. Don’t ask – that’s another long misadventure. Anyway, as I’m waiting to discuss the needed work with the service rep, I notice a nice, ’08 black sports car sitting in the service lot. Hmm, that car has wheels and brake calipers the same colors as a black ’08 I used to own. Venturing closer, I see it has a carbon fiber splitter that was not stock on those cars – just like the one I put on my car. I move around to the driver’s door and look inside. Same unusual red and black leather interior as my car had.
Now I’m thinking, ‘Could this be my old car?!’
I move around to the back. it’s got the same carbon fiber diffuser I had installed when the front splitter was put on. Back to the driver’s side, I open the door and pop the hood. There it is, the same black finished, OEM intake manifold I had retrofitted to the engine. I look at the VIN and am pretty sure I remember the last four digits, 9174, as my car.
By this time the service manager is available and I tell him, “JB, I think that is my black roadster out there that I sold back in 2014.”
He says, “Really? That car has a pretty extensive service history here. It could be.” We go back outside and start looking it over again. I start listing all the stuff that is the same about it. Then I see the last piece to the puzzle – a yacht club parking sticker on the windshield. The guy I sold it to was a member of that club. Now I know.
I call the Sales Manager. I leave a message. I call the GM. I leave a message and text him. I tell them they have my old car and I’m interested in buying it back. Ever since I sold it, my wife has never really forgiven me. She loved that car.
It’s Wednesday now, and this morning I finalized a deal to bring it back home. I really think I’m a little crazy. It just seems a little too good to be true. And it’s not money I really wanted to spend but, oh well, I guess you can’t take it with you. I traded another lovely car for it, so the dollar outlay was somewhat minimized, even though I really like the car I’m trading in, too. But, there it is – you have to give something to get something. I just hope it all works out well and this car doesn’t make me look like a complete idiot in front of my wife a second time. Wish me luck!
