Wasn't it JUST This Morning That I posted

Yes, just this morning all vehicles were back where they belonged. I had my Marquis and April had her Jeep back from having a remanufactured engine installed. I took Carrie to the bus stop and watched as she boarded the bus.

I warned April should she wake up and not see her Jeep in the driveway, but instead my Marquis, I would have the Jeep and have it at the shop. I wanted to get the transmission oil changed and the filter cleaned and the rear differential checked.

The first thing I did was bring the Jeep home and give it a good bath, going over the bumpers and all the exterior plastic and tires with some stuff to make it shine. The headliner needs replaced but for now, instead of the cloth hanging down and enveloping everyones heads,  I took a electric staple gun and did a little attaching it back in place. It really looks much better then before. The sun visor on the passenger's side was pretty ragged so I ripped it off and left the bare visor in place. It will get covered when the headliner is replaced. After spiffing it up a bit I drove over to the inspection place and had a two year inspection sticker put on it. Finally I was ready to take it to have the transmission fluid replaced.

I had made an appointment earlier to have it there by 1000 hrs and with 10 minutes to spare I pulled onto their lot. The lifts were all occupied and it looks as though the wait might be longer then the 1  1/2 hrs they told me I would have to wait. I decided to call April and have her drive the Marquis to pick me up. Well, of course she was still asleep and Ted answered the phone.

"Hey Ted, in that case, can you come and pick me up and take me to my house?"

"But Nana, I was going to Burger King to pick up a sandwich and then go to class." he says.

"Well Ted, you can't pick me up and drive me back to my house? Well then pass the phone to your Mom. Wake her up!"

I spoke with April. She was going to get up and come right away.

As soon as she got there, I drove through McDonalds' and got her some breakfast. It was the 'carrot on a stick' that I had promised if she came to pick me up. I know she would have came anyway; it doesn't hurt to sweeten the pot.

She arrives in her pajama pants, eyes still swollen from sleep. We picked up the food and headed across town to talk to Lesie. I had just seen her driving by and I thought I could catch her as she was only a little bit ahead of me when I saw her.

A minute or two into this drive, April's cell phone rang. I watched as the blood drained from her face and I knew it had to be something about her children. Carrie was in school and I had just seen Lesie drive by...... Ted?

Ted was on the phone. He had just taken a hit head on in his truck. Someone had run a red light. We were on our way..
Poor Ted. We arrived on the scene, there was grill, headlights and fenders all over the street. Three police cars were surrounding the mess. April dashed across the street dodging traffic to find Ted.

He was fine until he saw her. The tears rolled as she wrapped her arms around her son. When I could finally get across the street after parking my car in a lot across the street, I took my turn hugging him and telling him everything was going to be alright. It was evident his truck was totaled. His beloved truck, a 1993 was the same age as Ted. It was a truck owned by a retired gentleman that had bought it new. He passed away and his family put it up for sale. It had 70,000 miles on it and it had not a scratch on it.

Of course, though the other people were at fault and did have insurance, the Blue Book on Ted's truck will be what the insurance company will pay and if he gets 500.00 for it he will be lucky which doesn't help in replacing it with another vehicle in as good as shape as that truck.

Yes, we are grateful he was able to walk away. Now what to do about a vehicle for him to get to classes and to his job.

I went on Craig's list. A 2003 Honda Accord had just been listed. I called and made an appointment to see it.

We didn't tell Ted. We drove it home and went in the house. We asked him to go to the car and help carry some stuff in. Without a word, he put on his shoes and headed outside. When he got to the driveway, he stopped and stared. I thought I was going to see more tears. He turned and hugged me and said "Nana, you have done so much for me and I love you!"

Good luck Ted with your car. I love you too!