CARS

While checking a recent newspaper issue showing obituaries (mine wasn't there), I recognized a guy with whom I once had an automobile encounter. 

That got me remembering other car stories as follows:

01.  Driver Ed

In 1950, when I was seventeen years old, I purchased Baby, a 1935 Chevrolet for $50. Now I could see my girlfriend without having to travel by bus.  

But I had a problem, I didn't have a driving license, and I needed help in learning how to drive.

My High School had an excellent Drivers Ed program and I signed up.

Everything went well until one day when I was practicing navigating city streets.

The instructor told me to turn into a very narrow street with cars parked on both sides, across from each other.  I stopped the car.  The instructor asked me why I had stopped.

I said that there was not enough room for us to continue without hitting the cars.

The instructor insisted that I continue, saying that there was plenty of room.

CRASH!  I hit both cars as I scraped my way through.

I'm sure that I was blamed for the accident. The instructor quickly gave me a "Completion Certificate" and I got out of his life.

02.  Baltimore Car Dealer

When we arrived in Baltimore, Maryland after the long drive from New Bedford, Massachusetts, our car was in bad shape and needed some extensive repairs.

We "limped" into a repair shop that was connected to a car dealer.  After explaining that I did not have any money and would not until I had received my first paycheck from the Social Security Administration, that angel of a car dealer let me have a "loaner" and told me to pay him whenever I could.  No rush.

Needless to say, after that, I always bought new cars from him.  (Except once)

03.  The Little Red Car

We deviated from the Chevrolet/Ford cycle of new cars once and I'm trying hard to remember the name of the little red car that served us well for a couple of years.

We had lots of adventures with this car, but I just want to mention one example of "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware.) 

The whole car was bright red for about six months when the left hand door turned orange.  So, I guess that this vehicle had been in an accident and had the door replaced.. It was not pristine.  I should have not strayed from our usual dealer.

04.  AHAB Plate

As soon as possible, I changed our license plate so that it read AHAB.  That was my nom-de-plume in most of the organizations that I was involved in. 

One perk for having that plate: Whenever we visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum, we were allowed to park in the special area right next to the museum's entrance. It was a kind of advertisement for them.

Some time ago, I was lobbied to change my plate to advertise my connection to Mensa.  This involved using a license plate that looked like this: HIQxxx (High IQ and the number of the plate.)

When I applied for the plate I asked that my xxx number be over 140, because some folks would equate that number with actual IQ scores.

When I received the plate it read HIQ080.  Thanks, guys.

05.  The Obit Guy

I mentioned earlier that I had some interaction with the guy whose obit I read. 

Back a few years all 5,000 Social Security employees at the Woodlawn, Maryland facility were required to be at work by 8:30 am.

This meant that there was a massive backup every morning as drivers scrambled to get one of the few parking spaces. Sometimes, one could spend close to an hour in a line of slowly moving vehicles.

One day I was patiently serving my time in that "Vehicle Hell" when I felt a bump.  The guy in the car in back of me got out of his car, cursing me. Apparently, I had not moved up an open three feet, and he had rammed me.

I sustained absolutely no damage, but his fan had pushed against his radiator and made a perfectly round hole in it.

To avoid problems, I paid for his repairs. I doubt that I was reimbursed by insurance.

Normally, I like everybody, but this guy tried my patience, and usually his work and newspaper statements clashed with mine.

However, he was a good family man and like Art Simmermeyer, he seemed to care for our elderly Social Security  beneficiaries.  May he rest in peace!

........................................................................

Go and drive more slow.