My sister calls me and asks what I'm doing. Watching tv, as usual. Anyway, her car won't start, it's in the parking lot at Grouse Mountain after a day of snowboarding. She thinks it's a starter, and wants to know how difficult of a job it is for me to replace, or should she have it towed to a dealership.
So I start in on the questions. Do the lights work. Does the radio work. What kind of sound does it make while trying to start.
Click click click. But Simon (boyfriend) says it's the starter.
Lemme talk to Simon.
Simon is sure the starter is hooped. He tried banging on it, all it does is click. Tow truck is coming. So I tell him in no uncertain terms to get the tow truck driver to give them a jump, it's the battery. 9 year old car with the original battery, yeah, definitely. He's still adamant it's the starter, but says he'll ask for a jump. Doubting me.
So I call my sister back an hour later.
"Ya home yet?"
"No."
"Did it start with a jump?"
"Yeah."
"Tell Simon I told you so."
"Okay."
"Talk to ya later."
"Okay, bye."
Then I called her again today, asking her if she had her battery replaced yet. I have to keep on top of her because she'll take it in to the dealer for a battery, and pay shop rate to have it installed. So I told her to go to Costco instead, they're way cheaper, and will install for cheap too. But the next time I see her and her car I'll have to check her alternator output just to be safe.
Here's what got to me though, not so much Simon doubting my "expert" advise, but my brother not being able to help. He is about 45 minutes closer to where she was and could have easily gone up there and given her a jump, saving the money on a tow truck. Well, he didn't have cables, so he couldn't go. Here's the real kicker. He could have gone out and bought cables, and driven there and back for cheaper than the tow truck was, and still have the cables for the next time.
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Joe, who's GONNA BE A DADDY!!! drives an 02 supercab shortbed 3.0 liter automatic power nothing Ranger Edge. BC Chapter Member
__________________ Don #4 SlackerMaster Chapter Leader of the Massachusetts Chapter
Join the MA Chapter Here Currently own: 2006 F350 Lariat CC Super Duty, 6.0 L Diesel FTE Fraternity OF Blue Max
I guess I qualify... I stop frequently to help stranded motorists. A few of note that stick out:
2001: Exit 18, I-55/70 (Troy, IL) I had just left my second job and was getting on the interstate to go home. At the end of the ramp was a new Excursion pulling a boat. A man and his wife were staring at the front pass. side tire. He was messing with the scissor jack he had, to no luck. I pulled over to offer my floor jack, and wound up changing the tire for them. The man walked between the trailer and truck with his wife and came back with at least two $50 bills in his hand to offer for me changing the tire. After talking to them up to this point and knowing that they were with their kids going to the Ozarks, I just smiled and told them that I'd take their money on ONE condition... That I could give each of their boys half to spend for vacation money! They just shook my hand and thanked me a few more times. I just put the jack and 4-way back in the bed and pulled away before they could offer more!
2007: Coming home from dropping a trailer that I used to move with off at my best friends house, a woman in a Chevy Silverado was pulled off of I-255 near Dupo, IL. I could see that she had a small child with her, so I pulled off and backed about 1/4 mile back to her. She was talking on her cell phone as I walked up to her window and offered her my DL through the crack in her window and asked her if I could help her out. (Flat tire again) She said that if it was OK, she'd like to stay in her locked truck with her phone. I just told her to tell whomever she was talking to to keep my name, license plate, and any info she wanted on my DL while I looked at her tire. 5 minutes later, I asked her if I could have my DL back, as she was "Good to Go". She told me that I needed to wait a minute as her husband was only a minute away and wanted to shake my hand. I told her "Sure. I'll be putting the jack back in the truck in the mean-time." Sure enough, the Semi Tanker pulled off to the shoulder and she got out of the truck and handed me back my DL. The man offered his hand out and shook my arm damn near out of my shoulder. They never offered any money, but would have been refused either way. Two weeks later, an unmarked envelope arrived in the mail. It was a picture of the family and a check for $75. I had to laugh as my newly married wife asked what the check was for. After getting an envelope and piece of paper out, I tore the check into 3 pieces and wrote them a note back... "Pay it forward, and have a GREAT week!"
I won't take money for helping people... Some day it'll be MY wife/sister/mother/father that needs that help. I only hope it'll be someone else like me that pulls over to help them and not some whack-job!
If you want. I just made it small as I could without losing a whole lot. For that matter COPY HIS!
(but don't send it to a dry cleaner, lest it shrink even further)
Can I shrink it more, like Don's?
I'd rather be 'subdued'
You should be able to just right click on mine, then copy and paste into yours..
__________________ Don #4 SlackerMaster Chapter Leader of the Massachusetts Chapter
Join the MA Chapter Here Currently own: 2006 F350 Lariat CC Super Duty, 6.0 L Diesel FTE Fraternity OF Blue Max
I try to help when I can. Hard to pass someone in trouble. Today I was on my way to the store and drove past someone with their older GMC van stuck in their yard. Why they were driving in their yard after all the rain we have had and are having is beyond me but they do drive a GM product. I stopped. They were trying to use a little nissan 2wd 4 cyl to pull it. HAHAHA!!!. I offered to help, back the EX up to the chain, put here in low lock and just eased it out. No spin, no effort. Said ya'll have a good day and went on to the store. Guess that qualifies, huh.
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Larry
PSD Addict #13
2003 F350 CC DRW 4X4 (6X6)
6.0L with auto tranny / Superchips FlashPaq
RhinoLiner / Grill Guard
Recon Smoke Cab Lights / Recon LED Dome Lights
60" White Lightening Tailgate Light Bar
2002 Excursion Limited 4X4 V10 Bone Stock
I had found someone on the side of the road that had ran out of gas and towed them with my truck to the gas station that was only about .2 miles. save them trouble of waiting for AAA.
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Chris, Official #5 Slackmaster
To Join The Delaware Chp Click here MIDATLANTIC REGIONAL MEET AUGUST 6--8, 2010 Click Here for info
As a truck driver for 20 years i have been at the scene of numourus accidents, changed many tires, got drunks off the road by calling law enforcement, just plain helped out more times than i can remember.
The stories are many.
Some funny (imagine an old man in a clown siut on his way to the childrens hospital with a flat on the side of the road. we caused a CIG alert),
some horrific (holding a 4 year old little girl after an accident while the paramedics and firemen extricate her mother),
others are what i would call mundane (plain old tire changing). The fact is, I was trained by and "Old Timer" that taught me the old laws of the highway.
Today, I am not "allowed" to stop because of the cargo I carry. (don't tell anyone, but i still do. just more cautious).
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FTE Fraternity of Blue Max
FTE Fraternity OF Blue Max
