I’m not exactly sure what the Rorschach Test was all about, testing on personality and emotional function I think. This campground photo that I took after a recent storm reminded me of it and I seem to be in that kind of inkblot mood today. Maybe it is because my “Astrobump” problem went from bad to worse. If you remember, a big truck (Nissan Titan) that was coming from a stopped position on a side street, rammed me behind the driver’s seat when with my turning light on, I drove into the turning lane in preparation for driving into the motel parking lot where Linda and I were staying. She did virtually no damage to her truck but gave my Astrovan a major crunch in the side.
No tickets were issued and unfortunately the only report written by the Tucson policeman was a notation that they responded to our call to report the accident. I sent photographs and a diagram to both my insurance company (The Hartford through AARP) and hers (Primero out of SD). After an estimate was done (I never saw theirs but I had two done in Wickenburg and they were both around $3,000) and they decided the accident was 50% my fault and 50% hers, they offered me half the value of the 1993 Astrovan which came to approximately $1,100. They sent me papers to sign.
Although I had no collision insurance on that old a car, my insurance agent at least seemed sympathetic and we had a couple of e-mails back and forth. When I got the papers to sign, I e-mailed a copy to Hartford and asked some advice as to whether I should sign it or if there was a way to fight it. I waited ten days without hearing from them and finally signed the papers and sent them back, at the same time sending an e-mail to Hartford Insurance thanking them for their “kind response.” Then I got an e-mail saying the agent had been waiting for his boss to get back from vacation. Funny, my intuition must not have been working because I didn’t know that.
Long story not so short, I went back to one of the places that gave me an estimate and asked if they could just “pull it out” and paint it rather than replacing the whole panel, etc. The guy almost came unglued at that thought (Altho several men friends insisted that could be done). Well, I’m not putting $3,000 into my old 1993 Astro friend. Many years ago my husband and I did filled in bumps on a neighbor kid’s wrecked car and painted it. Maybe I’ll just don some gloves and get busy.
So now you know why I’m feeling a little Rorschachy today. Even at that, I’m very grateful no one was hurt and the Astro isn’t nearly as embarrassed about his Astrobump as I am. God Bless until next week.
Minshall’s RVing Alaska and Canada and RVing Adventures with the Silver Gypsy books are available thru Amazon.
At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”
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