On Monday, the snow expected here after 8:00 p.m. started shortly before noon. I made it to town and back with no issues, just a bit earlier than I had planned. Hick called to say his auction had been canceled! At least he made his own supper, a ham (leftover) sandwich. I had just frozen the green beans and roasted vegetables and remaining turkey that morning.
Anyhoo... Hick had been at his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5) that afternoon about his newly-installed heater that wasn't working. Then he went to the courthouse and annex to pay his business taxes and get his business license for 2026. Then by the abstract company to see about the closing on our latest flip that seems to be taking forever to be finalized. When he got home, he said he was running a bath in the big triangle tub, to warm up and jet away the pain in his legs.
While he was in the tub, I heard his phone ringing in the living room. I figured Hick would deal with it when he got out. Apparently, he did not.
Tuesday was frigid, and the snow wasn't melting, so I stayed home. Hick again ran a bath when he arrived. When he got out, he said, "I'm going to call my buddy. Looks like he called last night. I'll see what he wants."
I couldn't hear the conversation, but this is the guy whose sewer Hick fixed, the 90-degree elbow he replaced with a 45-degree elbow that was actually 135 degrees. He's older than Hick, and not in great health. I could only hear Hick saying, "That's normal. That's what it's SUPPOSED to do! Let me know how it goes." I was worried about The Buddy's health. I asked Hick what was going on.
"Well... I let him borrow my trailer to haul something. And yesterday evening, he had a wreck."
"Oh, no! Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he seems to be all right. But he had rented a truck to pull the trailer. A brand new 2026 with only 3000 miles on it. Now it's wrecked."
"What about your trailer?"
"Oh, it's totaled! I won't be getting my trailer back."
"What is it with you and trailers? Why can't you just have a trailer? Every one you've had has been wrecked by somebody who borrowed it! I guess now you'll have to borrow a trailer to pick up stuff for the flip house."
"I guess so. Anyway, he's all wound up. He kept saying, 'I've got to buy you a trailer!' I told him he doesn't. It's not something we have to deal with today, like he thinks it is!"
"I bet he's been worried to death since last night, when you didn't call him."
"I told him it's okay. I know he don't have the money to buy me a trailer. The reason he needed it was to haul his truck somewhere to get it fixed. So he had to rent that other truck to pull the trailer. He said when he went to pick up the rental truck, they made him buy insurance. I told him they always do that, because all he had was liability insurance. I asked if they knew he'd be using it to pull a trailer, and he said they must have, because THEY gave him the ball to put on it to hook the trailer to.
I told him that it's understandable that a wreck could happen, in that snow Monday evening. The insurance should cover it. That's what the insurance is for. It should cover my trailer, too. You can't buy insurance like that on just a trailer. The insurance on what's pulling the trailer covers the trailer."
We'll see if Hick gets reimbursed for the value of his trailer. It wasn't a NEW trailer, but it was a big trailer that he used to haul his tractor on, and pick up cabinets and appliances and lumber for the flip houses. And those lawnmower ramps his other buddy told him about.
Hick is not mad at The Buddy. It was an accident, not intentional. It won't affect their friendship. I am still worried about The Buddy. This has to be a lot of stress on him.
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