The Windshield May Not Be the Only Thing That's Cracked

So...what was the deal with the broken windshield in yesterday's post?

Hick was driving that car to get a new windshield, so it could pass inspection and get licensed, and go live with its new owner, Tommy!

It's a 2003 Chevy Impala with 239,000 miles on it. Hick found it in a driveway for $1000, and talked the previous one-owner down to $900 due to the cracked windshield. Hick says it would have cost 2 or 3 times that at a dealer. As you may recall, Hick and I decided to help out Neighbor Tommy by getting him a car, and letting him pay us back whatever he can when he got a job. No, it's not a limousine. Tommy had no say in the model or color. Hick set out to purchase the best condition car he could find for $1000 or less. This was it.

There was a minor snag this morning when Hick waited on The Veteran to come pick him up and drive him to his Work Town to pick up the car with its new windshield. The Veteran had a previous engagement, leaving Hick without a way to get Tommy's car. I freak out over highway driving, so Hick didn't ask me. He tried to contact a guy out here who drives to the city, but he'd already left for work. So Hick figured he might as well...

TAKE TOMMY!

He made Tommy drive our Trailblazer, just making sure he could drive. Tommy says he has a license that expires in 2019. Halfway there, he mentioned that he hadn't driven since 2010. Hick told him he was doing fine. He said Tommy drove 45-50 mph on the 55 mph highway. And Tommy said, "It's so FAR!" Hick told him it was 28 miles.

As Hick was paying the lady behind the desk for the windshield job, Tommy said, "This is my good neighbor. He's fixing me up with a car." Hick hurriedly took care of business and told Tommy they had to go. Otherwise, he would have spent an hour or so telling that lady his life story. Hick drove the new 2003 Impala home, while Tommy drove our 2002 Trailblazer. They both have insurance (six months paid on the Impala, with Tommy to take over after that) on them, but the Impala couldn't be licensed until it was inspected, and Hick didn't want Tommy to get stopped in it.

Anyhoo...they came home, parked the Trailblazer, Hick drove Tommy home, then went for the inspection and the license. The car passed inspection just fine. Hick even found out it has had new ball joints put in. I guess that's important. The only things that don't work are the driver's side window, which Hick may eventually take a look at, and the gas gauge. The previous one-owner said he just reset the trip odometer, and always filled it up at 300 miles.

Don't tell anyone, but Hick signed Tommy's name on the title. Then at the license office he found out it needed a second signature. The lady asked if he was Tommy, and Hick said, "I can be if it lets me sign it." Of course that lady was not on the take, and told Hick that Tommy would have to sign for himself. Hick said, "He just lives out the road here. I'll go have him sign it. I'll be back." Then he went to the park and signed Tommy's name again.

"Well, at least the signatures matched! But you're going to be in so much trouble if something happens."

"Ain't nothin' gonna happen. The only way it could be a problem is if the car had a loan on it. And it's paid for!"

I guess Tommy is happy with his new car. The only thing he said to Hick was, "Does this radio play cassette tapes?" Hick told him the owner's manual was in the glove box.

We'll see how this works out. I'm not expecting to be paid back. Monetarily, from Tommy. Life's not all about material things.
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Let the record show that the rainbow picture yesterday was taken along Highway 67, and the car is a 2003 Chevy Impala. Joe H was one year off with a guess of a 2004 Honda Accord, and Route 66 for the road (unless his 13-year-old self was just joshing me in regards to the Phillips 66 gas station). Sioux had the make right, since it IS a Chevy, but not a Trailblazer.