Bonin, a road that divides as much as the Rio Grande divides. One divides a clean, middle class neighborhood from a trailer park that, among respectable folks, also houses drug addicts, thieves and ner do wells. Unfortunately the undesirable are the ones remembered from across that Bonin divide. That divide is a paved road that delinates one section from the other; the upper middle class neighborhood and the area of poverty as much as the Rio Grande divides that third world country, Mexico from the land of the USA.
There is always someone walking The Bonin Ride. One can see them dressed in their fast food uniforms. They walk the mile to their jobs in the heat, the rain and the cold. I always offer these people a ride. Occasionally a bike will be seen on that road which is a dangerous ride on a bike. There is no shoulder on the road. The automobile driver must be alert. Most times the 'walkers' will be out at night dressed in black making it difficult to see then until you are upon them. I've had my heart drop many times from almost hitting one of the walkers on this road.
Seeing the walkers, who sometimes are carrying bags of groceries, I slow down, roll down my window and ask if they need a ride. I think back to the days when I worried about having a vechilce to drive. My big fear living away from family was being without an automobile. How would I get to work? How would I shop for the things we needed. As I watch the 'walkers', I'm empathetic to their plight.
I've blogged on Mary#1, one of The Bonin Walkers. Mary, the mother of two sons was seen, barely though, walking toward her home off Bonin Road. She walked slumped forward, head down, hair long and straggly in disheveled clothes carrying a bag of groceries in each hand. Her son, the younger of the two she had, walked along carrying his own burden of supplies. I slowed down and turned around and drove back to ask if they needed a ride. Gratefully they accepted. A mile or two down the road, we swung down the street into the trailer park. Mary shared with me she did have a car but it was in the shop for repairs. Apparently the older son had caused some damage to it and it was towed to a holding yard. She needed to get a ride the following day to pay the charges and get it moved from that yard. Money was tight. She was a heroin addict that was off heroin but on Seboxon, a drug used to help people kick the "H" habit. I offered to pick her up the next day and take her to pay bills and to pay for storage on that auto. She gratefully accepted.
As time went along, Mary shared her story and how she ended up being a Bonin Walker. The story wasn't pretty nor did it put her in a good light. Drugs and lots of them had caused Mary to walk down a narrow road into desperate times.
Thanksgiving approaching, I made a trip to the market. All the Thanksgiving dinner supplies, I bought and delivered to Mary and her sons. This was the first Thanksgiving they had together as a family in years. Usually she would take her two sons to a food line for their meal. This year she had no vehicle. Christmas came and the same thing we arranged. There is much more to Mary's story and in a prior blog I have went into detail. I'm moving on from this Mary. http://ftell001.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-person.html
The next Mary was a woman standing on Bonin, a Bonin Walker. She hailed me down as I pulled up to a stop sign. She asked if I was going to Walmart. I said I was and offered her a ride although I was headed to Home Depot in the opposite direction. I'm not in a hurry; nothing pressing. I have time to do 'a good deed' today. Again a story of her car in the shop and she was waiting on getting it out. Mary looked to be in her late sixties. She worn a long brown skirt, a loose cotton blouse and a very long scarf that wound around her head, around her neck and draped down over the front of her ending very close to the hem of her skirt. TURKISH! As we rode along, she shared that she was from Turkey. In the short distance to Walmart, she shared tidbits from her life. She thanked me effusively as she stepped from my car to the parking lot of the bank. She really wasn't going to Walmart but to the bank that was next to Walmart.
I waited until she returned to my car so I could return her back to her home on Bonin. Mary was a political refugee who had left her country because of religious persecution. She told me there were no churches in Turkey and there hasn't been any since the 1800's. All of them were destroyed years and years ago and Christians had to be very careful in their worshiping.
Mary is going to be another Bonin Walker that will be interesting getting to know. We traded phone numbers and I told her I would call to see if she needed a ride to Walmart when I had a trip planned
My friends chide me for my reckless ways and the rides I offer. I say a good deed never goes unappreciated. I try to be selective in my offers. Mary#1 casually shared with me that she had killed her husband by stabbing him to death. As we rolled along during this admission, I slid my eyes sideways to look at her. It was self defense! No worries! The Bonin Walkers are interesting.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Monday, June 5, 2017
Courtesy Chevrolet, Broussard, La. Hwy 90
So, it all started with a need for a vehicle. I detest shopping for a car. It means one has to deal with a car salesmen, usually noted as a "snake oil salesmen".
I drove to Baton Rouge for my first encounter. A note here to buyer: If you are looking for a used vehicle with low mileage, make sure you buy that vehicle from a dealer that DEALS in that brand. You will then get the remaining warranty on that vehicle. Should you select a vehicle from a dealer that does not SELL THAT VEHICLE among his new car lineup, you will forfeit remaining warranty on that vehicle and the snake oil salesmen will try to sell you an extended warranty for 2000.00!
The things I have learned on this car buying trip are priceless and that little ruse of the warranty was one of them.
Besides the tax, title and license, the dealership collects a fee of 220.00 for doing the paperwork!! Oh, you thought that was free? You didn't know that one of the charges in that total was for notary to sign that paperwork? I was told two different stories when I tried to pin down the dealership on this charge. One explanation was that the state of Louisiana demanded this payment for the paper work they would have to do when the car was taxed and licensed. (and I thought those state workers were paid a salary already!). The other explanation was that the people that worked at the dealership had to charge this for the paperwork they did. This explanation became a little fuzzy as the salesmen tried to put his spin on it.
After many trips to different car lots, I settled on a little white Hyundai Elantra SE 2016. Telling the salesmen that the grandson would have to drive this car for 8 hrs. back to Corpus Christi, didn't inspire this salesmen to alert me that the car did not come with a spare tire and jack? I had no idea that this was the norm now among vehicle manufacturers. Apparently keeping up with all the safety requirements demanded of them, putting a spare tire in the vehicles not only saves them money but apparently does not relate to a safety hazard should one have a flat tire in the desert in a scorching hot summer!
When I examined this vehicle, I especially noted the tires on it. I always do this when inspecting a vehicle I'm interested in. It's a cost that I can predict I might encounter along with the purchase price of the car.
The tires were in excellent condition. He wouldn't need to replace for many miles later.
Wrap it up. I'll take it. The salesmen left me sitting in her cubicle while she said the finance manager was going to see me as soon as he can. His spiel was to try to talk me into buying an extended warranty. I listened to his horror stories for 30 minutes. He stressed how cheap it was and when he gave me the total of 2000.00 dollars I smiled and declined.
Meanwhile, while waiting on him, I could see out the glass window to where the Hyundai was parked and noted the salesmen getting in the car and rushing it to the back of the dealership to the mechanics. When asked why it was going back to the mechanics, she said they would be checking it out. This is strange for a dealership. I'm sure all the cars on their lots that are SLIGHTLY used have been thoroughly checked out BEFORE being offered to the public.
A few days later we picked up the car. Another day passed and when I checked the tires on this car, I found they were NOT the tires that were on the car when I first test drove it and then I realized why this auto was hastly taken back to the mechanics shop. The tires were changed to worn tires that would need to be replaced by the buyer.
Courtesy Chevrolet is NOT a courtesy to anyone. Let the buyer beware!
I drove to Baton Rouge for my first encounter. A note here to buyer: If you are looking for a used vehicle with low mileage, make sure you buy that vehicle from a dealer that DEALS in that brand. You will then get the remaining warranty on that vehicle. Should you select a vehicle from a dealer that does not SELL THAT VEHICLE among his new car lineup, you will forfeit remaining warranty on that vehicle and the snake oil salesmen will try to sell you an extended warranty for 2000.00!
The things I have learned on this car buying trip are priceless and that little ruse of the warranty was one of them.
Besides the tax, title and license, the dealership collects a fee of 220.00 for doing the paperwork!! Oh, you thought that was free? You didn't know that one of the charges in that total was for notary to sign that paperwork? I was told two different stories when I tried to pin down the dealership on this charge. One explanation was that the state of Louisiana demanded this payment for the paper work they would have to do when the car was taxed and licensed. (and I thought those state workers were paid a salary already!). The other explanation was that the people that worked at the dealership had to charge this for the paperwork they did. This explanation became a little fuzzy as the salesmen tried to put his spin on it.
After many trips to different car lots, I settled on a little white Hyundai Elantra SE 2016. Telling the salesmen that the grandson would have to drive this car for 8 hrs. back to Corpus Christi, didn't inspire this salesmen to alert me that the car did not come with a spare tire and jack? I had no idea that this was the norm now among vehicle manufacturers. Apparently keeping up with all the safety requirements demanded of them, putting a spare tire in the vehicles not only saves them money but apparently does not relate to a safety hazard should one have a flat tire in the desert in a scorching hot summer!
When I examined this vehicle, I especially noted the tires on it. I always do this when inspecting a vehicle I'm interested in. It's a cost that I can predict I might encounter along with the purchase price of the car.
The tires were in excellent condition. He wouldn't need to replace for many miles later.
Wrap it up. I'll take it. The salesmen left me sitting in her cubicle while she said the finance manager was going to see me as soon as he can. His spiel was to try to talk me into buying an extended warranty. I listened to his horror stories for 30 minutes. He stressed how cheap it was and when he gave me the total of 2000.00 dollars I smiled and declined.
Meanwhile, while waiting on him, I could see out the glass window to where the Hyundai was parked and noted the salesmen getting in the car and rushing it to the back of the dealership to the mechanics. When asked why it was going back to the mechanics, she said they would be checking it out. This is strange for a dealership. I'm sure all the cars on their lots that are SLIGHTLY used have been thoroughly checked out BEFORE being offered to the public.
A few days later we picked up the car. Another day passed and when I checked the tires on this car, I found they were NOT the tires that were on the car when I first test drove it and then I realized why this auto was hastly taken back to the mechanics shop. The tires were changed to worn tires that would need to be replaced by the buyer.
Courtesy Chevrolet is NOT a courtesy to anyone. Let the buyer beware!
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