Friday, June 12, 2009

Is This Some Kind of Joke?

I have never talked so much about my car in the thirteen years I've owned it than I have the past two weeks, but here I am again blogging about Arnold.

The good news is, Bryan took it to a mechanic, reputable and recommended by the next door neighbor, who looked it over and said that the dreaded fuel injector problem was, in fact, just a cracked spark plug, which cost waaay less than we anticipated. Phew. He pumped up the air conditioner with juice and sent Arnold home with a clean bill of health.

Then. {sigh} Then we went out innocently today to run some errands, take care of some banking, maybe get an espresso (dare we hope that it be drinkable?). Bryan decided to make an unscheduled stop at a battery store, as the remote entry thingamajig had run dry from three years of disuse. Or something. Anyway, non funziona. I opted to wait in the car, while the store clerk took an insanely long time to replace one little battery. I watched several cars come and go, maneuvering in the weird, angled spaces of the parking lot.

Then. {sigh} Then I saw a car backing up in my direction. And not stopping. I hit the horn...just as she hit my car. Yes. Again. Just days after we got it back from the last go-round, poor Arnold was once again hit in a parking lot. Un-freaking-believable!

The young girl was very upset, and fortunately it was very minor - a few scratches and a little creasing of the bumper. But mamma mia! Are you kidding me?

If it hadn't just been fixed and painted we probably wouldn't have been too upset. If it had been our car in Italy, I probably wouldn't have even taken a second glance, since we had scrapes and scratches all over that little Fiesta (dubbed Guido, by the way, in case you were wondering). The other driver hopes to pay for the repair and be done with it, so we'll be off for estimates and such on Monday.

But I couldn't help thinking , is this some kind of joke? Is Candid Camera filming in Cleveland?

*This just in: this MSNBC article claims that Cleveland has some of "the most courteous, considerate drivers" in the country. Really? They're certainly not the most attentive!

Related Articles:


Bumpy Beginnings

10 comments:

Gil said...

Sounds like you two have gotten one heck of a welcome home. Maybe this will be the end of your bad luck and it will all be uphill from here. Good luck!

Valerie said...

Gil - Speriamo! And thanks. I read in today's paper that a local church is having a "blessing of cars" at the end of the month. Maybe we need to take Arnold!

janie said...

This is hard to believe-maybe it's a message that you should really be back in Italy! Glad you weren't hurt either time.

South of Rome said...

See?! This is what I've been scared of!!! I am scared to return to the US because of their nutty driving. Perhaps you need a red Neapolitan cornincello hanging from your mirror? You know to ward of any more bad things.-- Good luck! K

Valerie said...

Janie - That is exactly what I have been thinking, believe me!

Karen - Can you bring me a cornicello when you return? I think I need it! Hope to meet you in DC; I'll be in and out of there over the next few months.

carol in dc said...

I thought the same thing as Janie....il segno.....you guys need to get out of there and back to Italy pronto!!!!!

Valerie said...

Carol - I agree! Now I am paranoid whenever I park in a lot.

Ian Johnstone said...

Jikes Valaerie - I hope all the 'bad' luck is finished. Only good things from here on in

Ian Johnstone said...

Yikes Valerie - I hope all the "bad luck" is now finished and all plain sailing from here on in

Valerie said...

Hi Iain! Me too, believe me! What an ordeal!