Date:         Thu, 22 Jul 2004 21:45:14 -0500
Reply-To:     Russell Patten <toolvanagon@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Russell Patten <toolvanagon@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      No good deed goes un-punished.
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

   At first, I was thinking:   Shows up to fix her stuff and she wrecks his
van!  DAMN I hope he ended up getting some from this woman!  Then I read she
was 78, and that's just gross!

She needs to not be driving, if she can't see a friggin vanagon right behind
her she's not going to see a kid riding on a bicycle one day and kill the
kid.
People have insurance to ensure that things are okay when things like this
happen.
You're a good guy for fixing her up, keep fixing her up.
Take her groceries every once in a while too.
Make sure she gets a good deal on her Cherokee.

Help her without hurting yourself.




>         Last Thursday, my neighbor called and asked if I could stop by her
>house and fix a few things for her.  When I got there I parked in her
>driveway and went in.  First, she had a leak in the hot water hose to the
>washing machine.  Then, she had bought a new light fixture to go over the
>kitchen table and wanted me to install in.  I removed the hose and showed
>her a crack in in and told her I would go get another as soon as I
>installed the light.  She asked if she could pick it up as she needed to go
>to the grocery anyway and Lowe's is in the same block less than a mile from
>her house.  I said sure and gave her the old hose to take with her.  I was
>moving my ladder into the kitchen when I heard the garage door open.  Then
>I heard a crunch.  She had backed her late husband's 79 Cherokee into the
>front of my van.  Here's the damage.
>
>http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v149/skerarro/
>
>  I got five estimates for repair, ranging from $2100 - $2800.  Here's the
>problem. This lady is in her late 70's and lives on Social Security of less
>than $900/mo and spends a lot of that at Walgreen's on medication.  She has
>had two claims against her insurance in the past year, once when an
>uninsured driver rear ended her and one when she ran into a Coke machine in
>front of a convenience store.  She can't afford to pay $2000 + for repairs
>out of her pocket and she is certain that if she files with her insurance
>company she's gonna get cancelled and then won't be able to drive.
>
>Soooooo....   I'm trying to figure the best, and least expensive, way to
>make my van presentable.  This is my work van and has my name on it so I
>want it to look nice. I have owned it for over 22 years.  I had it
>repainted VW Delft white two years ago and put a factory rebuilt 1.6 D I
>got in Holland just last September.  I'm thinking of attempting the repair
>myself.  Can anyone please point me in the right direction to get started.
>Some of the advice I have so far is: 1. pull it out as best you can, bondo
>it, then put a nice bra over it and let it go at that.   2.  Find the
>corner metal and do it right - it does not seem to be that bad a bump.
>
>         I have access to a MIG welder and have limited experience with
>one.  I sure know how to sand and grind and squirt paint.
>
>Any suggestions, tips etc. gratefully accepted.
>
>Thanks
>
>Joe/Albuquerque

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