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View Full Version : Bad week for Big Red



David_Jennings
02-14-2009, 08:33
Thanks for all the help from contributers the past two weeks. I was very happy, almost smug, about fixing the stalling on my 6.5 by using a remote pmd cooler and new pmd, but karma straightened me out. First, I thought I should clean up my truck, so I went to an AutoZone for wheel cleaner for my polished aluminum wheels. The helpful clerks kept bothering me while I tried to read the labels on the many available products. I finally conceded to let one of them help, and she recommended a "very poplular" product. I read the applications, and it said "safe for ABS and clear-coated wheels." You probably know the rest of the story. When I sprayed it on my wheels, they started smoking and emitted and acrid smell. At the bottom of the label I discovered a warning,” Do not use on Polished Aluminum Wheels, Idiot!" It didn't really say idiot, but it should have. The wheels now look like hell. I'm trying to forgive myself and the clerk who recommended the product. Paint Scratch remover seems to help. With effort, I can restore the wheels. Knowing this, I felt I was back on top with my truck.

With a list of small jobs in mind for the weekend, I drove off the ferry last night to head home. At 45 mph, a deer shot out from the side of the road, and rammed its head into the side of my truck about midway (at the extra-cab). The deer's feet swung around and took out my power mirror. I could see the deer flipping end-over-end in my rear-view mirror, and it disappeared under an Escalade following me. The convoy of other cars charging off the ferry continued to pound the animal. The Escalade and I pulled over to assess our damage. A concerned woman in a Subaru stopped to chew us both out for hitting the deer. While the Subaru driver held up traffic to scold us, I tried to show her the large dent and scratches on the side of my truck. She backed off a bit, but nonetheless insisted that I go back, pick up the deer, and take it to the vet--to make sure it was dead. Like that old joke, the Escalade driver and I would have very much enjoyed making sure the deer was dead, but there were still a lot of people around.

JohnC
02-14-2009, 08:48
Her time will come, and she'll wish she wasn't driving a Suburu...

"If you know more than one person who has hit more than one deer, you may be from Upstate New York".

DickWells
02-14-2009, 12:55
It's amazing to me how very little a lot of people know about animals, and their relationship to vehicles. I've always known to have a healthy respect for creatures on the road, being a farm boy and all that. But, as a person who has lost a daughter to a car-moose wreck, I can tell you that no amount of warning or previous experience can prepare you for the worst that can happen.
It's stupid, the hair-brained schemes that some people can come up with. One group up home made a lot of noise about puting up a fence alone all our roads a few years back. Going to stop a moose with a fence, folks? A moose can tear down more fence in five minutes than the state could put up in five days! The Mexicans take lessons from the moose!
Like the gal in MA that got the officials to agree to neuter all male beavers. Was a good plan, until they found out that the beaver they had on the table was a female! Turns out, it's dang nigh impossible to tell a male beaver from a female. The stories are endless.
BTW, is it unlawful in WA to keep a grouse who kills himself on the side of your car, if it's grouse season? Not in Vt! Friend of mine paid a hefty fine, plus had to pay to fix the dent in his Toyota truck door. He took the bird and showed it to a game warden. Warden says, "You mean you ran over the bird?" "No, he ran into my door, see the dent". "Doesn't matter, you can't show me any bird shot in him, you gotta pay the State!":D Now, it's bird season, what do you do with the bird? Leave it beside the road to rot, of course. Logic according to our Government!
Have a great day.
Dick Wells:)