Saturday, December 31, 2011

The End of The Wagon

The past 4.5 years I have driven a 99 escort station wagon. Otherwise known as The Wagon.  Last week, after 251,215 miles it met its fateful end.
Last Friday my friend Tiffany called to ask if I could pick her up from work because she blew a head gasket while driving in that morning. So we planned for me to pick her up at 10:45 in order for me to drop her off and head in to work at 12.  I set off to pick up Tiffany, stopped to fill my gas tank as I was near empty, and continued to Woodbury. It was snowing lightly, nothing to major and the radio said it would pass through within an hour.  I picked up Tiffany and we were on our way, we were approaching the on-ramp for the highway and I asked Tiff if it was the right place to turn, cause sometimes I get side roads and on-ramps confused.  Well indeed it was our turn.  We weren't traveling real fast as there was snow on the ground and we were about to turn.  But as I turned the car we began sliding around on the road.  Tiffany exclaims "don't hit the wall" and I said "I won't" (I really didn't think we would) but then I realized I could not get control of the car and in fact we would be hitting, so I said "dang it, why'd you say that now we're going to..." SMACK! We hit the wall preventing us from soaring into the highway below.  I watched us hit and the next thing I know I opened my eyes with a ringing in ear, pain in my thumb, and pain in the my shoulder/neck, and realized the air bags had deployed and the car was quite damaged.  Well luckily Tiffany and I were not seriously injured and we only hit a wall no other vehicles. The front bumper was all smashed in and the windshield had cracked in a few places.  And thus ended the wagon.  It was hauled away by a friendly tow driver, I went and cleaned out my belonging and signed over the title earlier this week. I also took the license plates to transfer to my new car.  I got the front one of just fine, but the back one had one nut that just would not come out, I had to get help from the same driver who towed it away, It's like the wagon just didn't want to let go.
The moral of the story is good tires are very important to your car and you should not put off buying them.  Cause even in a pathetic little to hour storm in Wisconsin/Minnesota causes slippery roads.
I can't say I'm terribly upset by the lose of the wagon. I got a new car already, that's much quieter and  nicer to drive.  The wagon was beginning to have its struggles anyway. It's like if something was destined to live to be 100 and die naturally but instead died in an accident at 99.5. Ironically just the Wednesday before my accident a co-worker of mine asked me how many miles my car had because he had the same car as me.  This past week his car died on him on his way to work.  Not a good time for 99 escort station wagons I guess.
I will miss the wagon a little I suppose. Like when it comes moving time, or when I need to put something large in my car.
So Wagon, I am sorry of how I ended things. You didn't deserve such a murderous death, may you rest in recyclable pieces.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Random Sights

Last night while walking up the stairs in my building and I happen to look up at the top of the window and what do I see but a tank top sitting on top of the curtain rod. I mean this window is way up in the air and the tank top seems pretty tucked in there so I really wonder how it got all the way up there.