Started the day as usual, up at 04;30am coffee with Donna, then she was off to the truck company at 05:30am, and I went down to the office, When Adam got up I said , how would you like to go to the train museum today we haven't gone in a couple of years and you can see you Great Great Grandpa Weibel's engine again. he was enthused so about 09:00am we went down and got in the truck and I started to back out of the garage. I have to watch the mirrors closely as I only have about two inches on each side to clear the mirrors as I pass the door frames. just as I got out of the door I felt the rear tires roll over something, I stopped and jumped out and what had I rolled over but the rear tire of Adam's bike which must have been lying on the side of the driveway sticking into the path of the wheels, of course you couldn't see it in the mirrors and I knew Donna's car had been parked overnight behind the truck, so how the bike got there on the ground I'll never know unless the wind blew it over. Anyway there was a few "oh heck, oh darns," and I told Adam that the bottom line was we were both to blame, Grandpa because I was driving the truck and responsible to see nothing was behind me, and him because he hadn't put the bike in the garage where it is supposed to be after he is finished with it.
I told him we would not be going to the train museum, since I would have to buy a replacement wheel, and I wasn't going to reward either one of us for our carelessness with a fun trip, instead we went to Walmart to buy a 20 inch bicycle wheel.
Guess what you can buy the bike there but they no longer sell wheels, Hey Rod, sound familiar, Just the other day Retired Rod was posting about trying to get a part for a ceiling fan, and how they didn't know anything about parts. I commented on this being a throwaway society. Anyway I had to go to a bike shop and they had a 20 inch wheel and a tube, the tire wasn't damaged. so $49 poorer we went home and Grandpa installed the new wheel on the damaged bike. Adam took it for a test ride and proclaimed "it goes faster Grandpa". That's exactly what my wallet said when I was paying for it.
The kicker is Walmart sells a 20 inch bike complete with both wheels for about $69. Of course the wheel I bought said made in USA on it , and the whole bike at Walmart is probably made in communist china. But there lies the answer to throwaway everything anymore and no parts.
Sound like a rant, here is another one of my nemesis's.. you know when you post a comment to someone's blog in order to pass through customs, you have to type in a combination of letters before you get the magic words that say," Your Comment will be posted when it is approved". Who thinks of these letter combinations? I sometimes with my bumble fingers take two tries to get my comment posted, I hope whoever that guy is doesn't have the eyesight and co-ordination I have. On second thought he probably does..
Gosh I feel better now, hope you all have a better day than I have had so far, but I guess it could have been a lot worse and I know two guys who learned a lesson today. right Adam. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.
Ya man, but you got the joy from knowing that you can fix it, and it is much better now that it has those US parts!
ReplyDeleteAdam probably learned a thing or two in the process, so your money was well spent.
Rod
I can really relate to your comments about our throw away society. I remember when you could buy parts and repair things yourself or at least take it to a repairman in town. Good luck doing either these days.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the bike but if Adam learns from it it is money well spent.
--Rod
Well Sam, I'm glad you could actually find a replcement wheel. At least it was only a bicycle wheel and not a person or animal friend!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the rest of your day.
Wow, you hit two topics I gripe about, but not in public. The throw-away times we're in and those odd words that you have to decipher to post a comment. I now find that our 32 inch TV is a throwaway item since it cost $175.00 to have it fixed after a lightning strike. The problem was only one tiny transistor, but the labor was a killer.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think you handled the bike tire situation just right!
I never realized that beer helps drool..I must tell Dennis...he needs to take a can to bed! Glad you enjoyed the train photos...and please let us know if a steam train is coming our way!! Also, too bad about the bike tire....I actually backed out of our garage and hit our black lab..luckily she was OK after a tearful trip to the vet....She is now deceased, but we love to see pics of Riggen, the Wonder Dog!!! Keep in touch!!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean. I just set my husband up with an email account. The one we set up two days ago says not the right password and wouldn't let him on. It says they will send instructions in his email on getting new password. Tell me, how is he supposed to get instructions in his email when they won't let him get to his email.
ReplyDeleteEasier to get new email. Anywho - it took me THREE times of typing in that crazy combo of crooked letters and numbers to finally get approval.
Now, let's see how many tries it will take now!
Oh, I sure hope you and Adam get to go where you had planned another day.
See, Sam, rants help you to feel better! We can all empathize with your dilemma today. Kids and bikes--they are a learning experience but oh, such a necessary part of a child's life. Glad you were able to get the bike fixed.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Adam's bike. It was an accident on both parts. Just glad you were able to find a replacement wheel and got Adam all fixed up again.
ReplyDeleteTake care and hopefully you all will get to that museum soon.
Mike & Gerri (happytrails)
http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com
Sorry about the bike accident but glad you were able to get it fixed. Spaghetti and meatballs sound delicious, I haven't made that in quite awhile. I will have to put that on the menu for next week. Tonight we are having BBQ steak and then the next three days are busy working so it is sandwiches and stuff.
ReplyDeleteHope you make it to the train museum sometime soon but glad you took the time for lessons learned.
I also don't like the mixed up letters and in fact, took them off my blog.
Ahhh such lessons we learn... my dad once drove over my brother's bike. Seeing that twisted up hunk of metal was enough to make us girls be SURE our pretty purple banana bikes were always parked in the backyard by the sand box. No matter WHAT excuse.. that is where they belonged. My brother lived the rest of the summer without a bike, but boy oh boy he sure was mad.
ReplyDeleteWish my dad had taken the stance (like you) that it was his fault too, for not looking. With 6 kids and umpteen neighborhood kids around, every driver should always look twice .. or three times.
Glad you had a good outcome!
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/