I'm not sure where to start . . .
You know how you will say stuff sometimes that you may not mean /literally/ and yet . . . somehow, someday, there comes a time when your are put to the test on words spoken in a moment of poor judgement?
Well that's what happened to me. Now some of you may not understand this but maybe some of you will. There is nothing purer then the love for a car. It's hard to explain and even harder to live through sometimes. When I got my Starsky and Hutch Gran Torino it was the acheivement of a lifelong dream that one can not put into words. In an offhanded way, and in a bad attempt to try and get across just how much that vehicle meant to me I said once that I would throw myself between my 'Striped Tomato' and danger to keep it from getting damaged, do anything it took to keep him from getting damaged. Yea Hmm mmm . . .
Yesterday started out like any other boring day around here . . . until I ran out of toilet paper!!! Ok now we are on a mission from God. I got in Zebra3 and decided while I was out I would check the mail and then head to the store for some groceries and ... toilet paper :oops: 8)
After I checked the mail, I turned out onto the highway and what do I see about 1/4 a mile down but a full grown Gopher Tortoise. These are endangered and he's in the middle of the two lanes terrified. I pull into a turn around and go back to get him off the road. I've done this a lot before so its no biggie, just a typical turtle rescue (though what a valuable turtle needing rescuing-!!).
I throw Zebra3 in park and go out to the turtle. I'm waiting for traffic to go by...they see him, see me, and luckily people are trying to avoid him...now my car is about 25 feet behind me...and from behind I hear **THUNNK**
I snap a look back and see....my Striped Tomato taking off in reverse!!!! I was like 'THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!!!' and the foot race began. Tripped, lost a shoe, made it around the door, I was SO close (hand on the wheel, lifting a foot toward the brake pedal), but he was speeding up (it was not level ground) and the door caught me, knocked me over, then the car RAN over me (the driver's front tire caught the side of my right leg and shoulder, rocker panel, back of fender and door caught everything else) and once I fought my way out from half under him I scrambled back to my feet and was still trying to reach him but stopped when he hit the pavement. There was a truck stopping about 3 carlengths away from him and cars stopping in the other lane. It was bumper to bumper traffic and everyone stopped nice and calm and just waited. My attempt to stop him actually angled him just right so instead of straight he started to curve and over to the other side of the road he went.
On the other side of the highway after about a 7 foot wide shoulder is a steep ravine at the edge of some marshy type ground and I watched my car literally disappear over the edge. I'm standing there just O_O and fully expecting to hear a crash but a couple of seconds later the cars tail end comes up about 40 feet to my left and the incline stopped him.
So now, while traffic stopped for my car, no one would stop to let me to the car LOL but two vehicles pulled over by him and are getting out to help. I see the Tomato's not moving so I figure what the hell, I might as well finish what started, turned to go back for the turtle and....someone hit him...........so I walked out and moved it to the side of the road then made it to my car. The drivers door was open the whole time this went on and between it catching some brambles and the incline thats what stopped him and he's just sitting there idling in reverse.
One of the people who stopped was a guy in a truck who hooked up a rope and pulled me out without me even asking. And man this guy was good. I was steering him back out (he was sitting at a real funky angle... fair chance he might have rolled had the door not been open) and I never felt it when he put the tension to the rope. Once that was done he refused any compensation saying that he had watched that entire thing (and everything I had gone through to try and stop it) and couldn't drive by without getting me out.
After grateful thank you's from me and good byes we all part ways. I went ahead to the grocery store and there started pulling out all the pounds of vegetation stuck all in the door hinges and fender seam and everywhere and as I'm walking around inspecting him I'm finding NOT one dent, ding, scuff, scratch. NOTHING. His door hinges weren't even sprung. He's as perfect now as he was before he took off on his solo adventure. @[email protected] Absolutely amazing.
As for me?
Well . . . my pride and joy kicked my ass LOL Certainly not my way to experience two tons of Gran Torino O_o. Nothings broken (I didn't get but a fraction of that two tons and that was more then enough for me!!) but I've got the worst bruise I never thought possible on my right thigh. Right knee is fried (bone bruise) where it slammed into the rocker panel and actually scuffed off some paint (so I guess he did get /one/ mark after all)
When it was quite evident I was being run over I protected my face and stomach and fought myself away. Add a right wrenched shoulder, various and assorted bruises, contusions, and pulled muscles, but I'm ok.
And yea .... maybe a lot of you think I'm nuts (I've stopped run away cars before, though /not/ mine so it wasn't like this was something 'new') but my attempt to stop him actually slowed him down and angled him in such a way that no one got hit, or hit him. Granted I can think of better ways to have done that besides my BODY but sometimes the fates take you literally eh? As much as that car means to me and with all those people there was no way I could just stand there and watch this happen and not try to stop it.
I've felt and seen that car from more angles then anyone ever should with their car and words can never describe just what I felt when he took off onto the road out of control, then over into the ravine and all I could do was stand there and watch helpless on what I was sure was the destruction of one of the two most important things in my life.
Next time I hear someone say they would do /anything/ to save their car, they love it that much, I'm going to tell them to be careful what they say . . . it just might come true. And next time I hear someone say they've gone through hell with their car, they better have something to beat that.
And now I'm being razzed about it and have a new nickname; Speedbump >_<
You know how you will say stuff sometimes that you may not mean /literally/ and yet . . . somehow, someday, there comes a time when your are put to the test on words spoken in a moment of poor judgement?
Well that's what happened to me. Now some of you may not understand this but maybe some of you will. There is nothing purer then the love for a car. It's hard to explain and even harder to live through sometimes. When I got my Starsky and Hutch Gran Torino it was the acheivement of a lifelong dream that one can not put into words. In an offhanded way, and in a bad attempt to try and get across just how much that vehicle meant to me I said once that I would throw myself between my 'Striped Tomato' and danger to keep it from getting damaged, do anything it took to keep him from getting damaged. Yea Hmm mmm . . .
Yesterday started out like any other boring day around here . . . until I ran out of toilet paper!!! Ok now we are on a mission from God. I got in Zebra3 and decided while I was out I would check the mail and then head to the store for some groceries and ... toilet paper :oops: 8)
After I checked the mail, I turned out onto the highway and what do I see about 1/4 a mile down but a full grown Gopher Tortoise. These are endangered and he's in the middle of the two lanes terrified. I pull into a turn around and go back to get him off the road. I've done this a lot before so its no biggie, just a typical turtle rescue (though what a valuable turtle needing rescuing-!!).
I throw Zebra3 in park and go out to the turtle. I'm waiting for traffic to go by...they see him, see me, and luckily people are trying to avoid him...now my car is about 25 feet behind me...and from behind I hear **THUNNK**
I snap a look back and see....my Striped Tomato taking off in reverse!!!! I was like 'THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!!!' and the foot race began. Tripped, lost a shoe, made it around the door, I was SO close (hand on the wheel, lifting a foot toward the brake pedal), but he was speeding up (it was not level ground) and the door caught me, knocked me over, then the car RAN over me (the driver's front tire caught the side of my right leg and shoulder, rocker panel, back of fender and door caught everything else) and once I fought my way out from half under him I scrambled back to my feet and was still trying to reach him but stopped when he hit the pavement. There was a truck stopping about 3 carlengths away from him and cars stopping in the other lane. It was bumper to bumper traffic and everyone stopped nice and calm and just waited. My attempt to stop him actually angled him just right so instead of straight he started to curve and over to the other side of the road he went.
On the other side of the highway after about a 7 foot wide shoulder is a steep ravine at the edge of some marshy type ground and I watched my car literally disappear over the edge. I'm standing there just O_O and fully expecting to hear a crash but a couple of seconds later the cars tail end comes up about 40 feet to my left and the incline stopped him.
So now, while traffic stopped for my car, no one would stop to let me to the car LOL but two vehicles pulled over by him and are getting out to help. I see the Tomato's not moving so I figure what the hell, I might as well finish what started, turned to go back for the turtle and....someone hit him...........so I walked out and moved it to the side of the road then made it to my car. The drivers door was open the whole time this went on and between it catching some brambles and the incline thats what stopped him and he's just sitting there idling in reverse.
One of the people who stopped was a guy in a truck who hooked up a rope and pulled me out without me even asking. And man this guy was good. I was steering him back out (he was sitting at a real funky angle... fair chance he might have rolled had the door not been open) and I never felt it when he put the tension to the rope. Once that was done he refused any compensation saying that he had watched that entire thing (and everything I had gone through to try and stop it) and couldn't drive by without getting me out.
After grateful thank you's from me and good byes we all part ways. I went ahead to the grocery store and there started pulling out all the pounds of vegetation stuck all in the door hinges and fender seam and everywhere and as I'm walking around inspecting him I'm finding NOT one dent, ding, scuff, scratch. NOTHING. His door hinges weren't even sprung. He's as perfect now as he was before he took off on his solo adventure. @[email protected] Absolutely amazing.
As for me?
Well . . . my pride and joy kicked my ass LOL Certainly not my way to experience two tons of Gran Torino O_o. Nothings broken (I didn't get but a fraction of that two tons and that was more then enough for me!!) but I've got the worst bruise I never thought possible on my right thigh. Right knee is fried (bone bruise) where it slammed into the rocker panel and actually scuffed off some paint (so I guess he did get /one/ mark after all)
When it was quite evident I was being run over I protected my face and stomach and fought myself away. Add a right wrenched shoulder, various and assorted bruises, contusions, and pulled muscles, but I'm ok.
And yea .... maybe a lot of you think I'm nuts (I've stopped run away cars before, though /not/ mine so it wasn't like this was something 'new') but my attempt to stop him actually slowed him down and angled him in such a way that no one got hit, or hit him. Granted I can think of better ways to have done that besides my BODY but sometimes the fates take you literally eh? As much as that car means to me and with all those people there was no way I could just stand there and watch this happen and not try to stop it.
I've felt and seen that car from more angles then anyone ever should with their car and words can never describe just what I felt when he took off onto the road out of control, then over into the ravine and all I could do was stand there and watch helpless on what I was sure was the destruction of one of the two most important things in my life.
Next time I hear someone say they would do /anything/ to save their car, they love it that much, I'm going to tell them to be careful what they say . . . it just might come true. And next time I hear someone say they've gone through hell with their car, they better have something to beat that.
And now I'm being razzed about it and have a new nickname; Speedbump >_<
Comment