What a way to end the year! Yesterday I got rear ended.
On not "that" rear ended, that's not my thing. Really.
Yesterday, while I was making my almost daily run to my local supermarket, I was waiting for the light to change so I could make a left hand turn on Rt. 16.
Then "BOOM!" WTF?
At first I thought someone banged my car with their open palm. Then I realized what happened, a truck behind me just bumped into me. WTF?
I immediately got out of my car to check the damage. And what do I see? A well worn truck full of Mexican landscapers. One of the short Mexicans (aren't they all short?) slid his short body down from his open driver's door to "meet" me.
I checked the damage to my car and sure enough, I had a "puncture" in the rear bumper. Not a huge dent but a puncture nonetheless less. Great! WTF?
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| Rear ended yesterday |
I immediately asked him for his insurance papers and registration and driver's license. Of course he had none. Of course. He had a lot of papers but none of those. He just shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. I actually felt a little sorry for him, and his crew. Not a whole lot but a little. I understand accidents happen. That could have easily been me. But it wasn't and now I had this complication for my day which I didn't want. My life is complicated enough. Neither of us wanted this. He gave some kind of explantation for why he bumped into my car but I couldn't understand him through his heavy Spanish accent.
By now the line was piling up behind us of other vehicles waiting to make a left hand turn. A few cars pulled out of the line and continued northward on Route One. Great! How long before someone becomes impatient and a nasty confrontation scene develops? I made a quick decision to pull through the intersection and pull over to the side of the road.
The guy who hit me followed me, and pulled in beside me. I decided to call the police to report the accident. I told her that I no one was hurt but that there was damage to my car. She said if I wanted to report the damage to my insurance company I would need a police report unless I "wanted to work something out beside the road." Ah ha! I think that is what I want to do and also my Mexican counterpart. I pointed to the damage and said "Five hundred." He said "three hundred." I said "OK". He pulled out four $50 bills from his pocket. He said something to one of his passengers and that guy pulled out another two $50 bills. He handed the six $50 bills to me. Hmmm, what are they doing with all that cash? Of course I'm being facetious. The Mexican landscapers I hire all insist on being paid in cash, which I do. Usually $50 bills. I wonder if they report that income to the IRS. Again, I'm being facetious. I'm not that all upset about that, after all they're just trying to make a better life for themselves and their families here in the US. And they do do a good job for a reasonable price. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes I get a greedy one that I have to remind I'm not one of those rich guys. Pat calls me "Ronald McDuck" but that's a running joke between us.
We completed the transaction and we both went our ways. Just another day In The Life. And how was your day yesterday?
