Somebody’s idea of a prank that almost ended in tragedy:
Now that the celebration of our nation’s birth is safely behind us, I hope and pray that each of you had a very safe and happy holiday.
Having said that, I would like to relate to you a harrowing experience I had this passed Thursday (July 3rd) as I was on my way to pick up some of my grandkids for a weekend of fishing and viewing fire works.
It all began at 9:00 am on Thursday morning. I drove to my bank to make a small withdrawal of my meager funds, and then hit the expressway to make the 12 mile drive to my son’s home to pick up my grandkids. Munchkin assumed her usual position in my lap with her head sticking out the window, enjoying the sights and smells.
I was driving along at roughly 55 mph, when suddenly; the front of my car began to shake violently, making it almost impossible to control the steering. Then I began to hear an unusual noise coming from the driver’s side front wheel, and at the same time, the steering problem became worse. As I looked for a safe spot to pull over, I was able to reduce my speed to 10 -15 mph, which made the noise coming from the wheel even louder.
The next thing I knew, a car pulled up alongside me, matching my speed and the woman in the passenger side frantically pointed to my wheel and shouted for me to pull off the road right away. I finally managed to do so, and as I shut off the engine, I began to smell a very strong odor of gasoline.
When I stepped out of the car, I saw the front driver’s side wheel cocked at a slightly unnatural angle and a huge puddle of gasoline forming under my car under the gas tank. The folks who warned me, called a tow truck for me and I had the vehicle towed to my son’s shop. He discovered that someone removed two lug nuts from the wheel and loosened the rest of them. The wheel was barely hanging on when I pulled off the road, but that wasn’t all, there were two holes punched into my gas tank. So, even though I can’t really afford it, I have to spend much of Monday searching for a used gas tank, in good condition so that my son can install it for me. He also has to replace the rim on the car because there was a good bit of damage done to the original one.
I ended up having to borrow a car from my son in order not to disappoint my grandkids. I made out a police report, but it is highly doubtful that they will find the culprit(s). They do know that it was done at the apartment complex where I live (saw gasoline on the ground beneath where I park, but none of my neighbors saw anything, which leads us to believe that it was done sometime between 2:30 am and 6:30 am on Thursday, as I usually go to bed around 2:15 am and don’t get up until 7:45 am.
I have to thank the Lord for riding with Munchkin and I, and I am thankful that my grandkids weren’t in the car at the time. This whole situation could have turned out to be tragic. One has to wonder just what the hell goes on in the minds of people who would do something like this.
I was able to give my grandkids an enjoyable weekend, but I don’t mind telling you that I am still shaken up.
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