Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Oh deer…

My dad bought a new car last month. A brand new Buick Lucerne with all the bells and whistles: moon-roof, heated steering wheel, and a discreet little alarm that alerts him when he crosses into the next lane without signaling first (This little alarm is getting a lot of play, much to my mother’s eternal vindication!)

It’s really a beautiful car, though not very fuel efficient.

Well… it WAS a beautiful car.

On their way home from a party last night, they hit a deer. Thankfully, no one was hurt (aside from the deer) and the airbags didn’t even deploy.

My poor mother was driving at the time, and she’s just beside herself about it. The front right fender, the hood, and the passenger side door are all crumpled and will all need to be replaced.

I called them this morning and I could almost hear the shrug in my father’s voice. He’ll flip out over a scratch on his bumper, but he doesn’t sweat the big stuff. Like the time I side-swiped a police cruiser… Um… You don’t need to hear that story.

Bader.

Anyway, I tried to talk to my mother but she refused to come to the phone. I don’t know if she thought I was going to make fun of her or what (Would I do that? Um….) So, I told her through my proxy (Dad) that she shouldn’t let it bother her. It was no one’s fault and even if it were, there’s still no way to go back and undo it. They’re well-insured and the car will be fixed in no time.

“It’ll never be the same!” I heard her lament in the background.

Probably not. But so what? Now it has character.

The funny part, as my dad reminded us gleefully (and this might have contributed to her foul mood) was that this was not the first time this sort of thing had happened to her.

Picture it: 1967, a brand-new Ford Mustang in metallic green. Her first major purchase, paid for with her own money that she earned working at her first real job. (Her father – who was an asshat – grudgingly co-signed the loan but didn’t contribute so much as a nickel) That car was a thing of beauty. When it was a week old, she parked it on the street in front of her job and (wait for it!) it was squished by an 18-wheeler.

She had it fixed but it was never the same.

Poor Mom…

(Is it wrong that I find this pretty funny???)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Holy Carp, EEE, a deer???

My boss's daughter got hit by a deer last year. It rammed into the side of her car.