The Night Shift

[Gator]

great ink......

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, y'all. This morning my wife told me my Dad called last night. He said he totalled the Focus wagon yesterday at the new Post Office in Galveston. He ran into a cop. They called everybody but the National Guard on him, and it turned out a good friend of the family's grandson (I grew up with his dad) is a Deputy Sherriff and he drove my Dad and Stepmom home. Like I say, the Focus is now gone. My folks are OK. According to what Debby told me, he said it's a new place and there was a median they didn't tell him about, and the cop came up on him too quick so the car hit the cop (of course it wasn't anything HE did), but he'll be careful from now on...this was an eye-opener...the same cliches he's been saying. This is the 4th wreck he's had in the last year that I know about, but it's the first one he's told me (through my wife) about. There have been a couple he's had that he didn't tell anybody about but I know he had, because the garage doors and jambs have been replaced at his house in Galveston. He ran into them. I have to call him today. It's not going to be easy to talk to him with restraint, but if I demand that he stop driving now, he will get angry for absolutely no reason (6 wrecks that I know of) and tell me to leave him alone. I'd sure hate to see his insurance bill...Something has to be done to stop him before he kills himself and takes somebody else with him. Hopefully this time since it was a State Trooper he smashed, that the judge will remove his driving privileges when he looks at his driving record...takes the burden off of me...WC1

[draglist]

It sounds like that might be best. My grand dad insisted that he could still drive way past when he actually could. I was about 14 when I was trying to convince him and it was extremely difficult (and I personally was unsuccessful). It finally took him moving in with my uncle to convince him and even that took time. bp

[Billy Mac]

ummm.....BP???....Do you have yer avatar settings to coincide with the random rods feature?? or do you just change that often????

[pro70z28]

Sorry about your Dad WC. That has to be tough. I don't know that i would handle it too well either. Nobody wants to give up that freedom of driving. A few years ago, when my Mom was still living out here by us, she got lost while driving. She was gone most of the day, ended up in a different town even. That was the last time she drove. I guess that's what it took to convince her it was time to stop driving.
As you said WC, maybe this accident will convince your Dad to give up the keys.

[WildcatOne]

I hope so, Pro, but I'll have to wait and see. I called there today and my stepmom said he's got the car in the shop to see if they can just repair it enough to drive around town...the frame was bent...she said they don't have insurance on that car, which sounds impossible to me. I don't know if the insurance just won't cover this wreck because he's had 3 or 4 wrecks before this one that got reported, or if it has something to do with this being his fault and it was a cop he hit? He wasn't available to talk because he's trying to get the car fixed...it has gone beyond any reasonable conclusion...WC1

[Mike-Casella]

John, could you find out where the car is, and talk some sense into the repair people to help out and make the car non repairable? Give them the "save a life" pitch.

[WildcatOne]

Thanks, Mike. From what I've heard, my Dad is paying for the repair out of his pocket. The way things work in Galveston, "He's at the shop" is all you can get. Everybody knows where "the shop" is, but nobody really knows the name of the place so all it is is the shop. Galveston is its own little universe with its own people and its own way of life. It's sealed off from the rest of the world. That's about the best way I could describe how it is there. Right now, my Dad isn't thinking clearly about what happened. If he could just for one minute take a step back and see that this was his third strike...he could reason that he can get out of the driver's seat now and not end up getting beaned by the next pitch and losing everything. There was a reason that this happened and I can see it so clearly it hurts, but all he can do is hurry down to the car repair shop and have the car fixed good enough so he can drive it again as soon as possible. My sister didn't know about the wreck; I talked to her yesterday and she suggested I go down to Galveston and get a copy of the accident report...not easy because of the beaurocracy involved...she's a cop in Kansas City and she knows the drill and she told me get ready to spend a whole day and pay money to get the report. Then find out when his court date is and email the judge in advance asking him to review my Dad's drivng record. The last year will be enough to get his license revoked; that plus his insurance is probably going to drop him if they haven't already, and when he appears in the courtroom, stooped halfway over, stumbling around to keep his balance and fumbling with his cane, unable to look up to the judge, seeing double and wearing his 2 hearing aids but still not being able to hear what the judge is saying...it's embarrassing to say all this...I think the judge will revoke his driving privileges. He can go anywhere he wants if he just picks up the phone and calls the driving services that are available to him. He'd never call me. I'm very worried about him. He still has a Buick Park Avenue sitting there that runs great. Something tells me he's going to start using it as his next unguided missile. I am praying that he will have a moment of clarity and make the right decision now before a tragedy occurs. I can't tell him anything. WC1

[draglist]

ummm.....BP???....Do you have yer avatar settings to coincide with the random rods feature?? or do you just change that often????

I change it every day or two. I get bored easily! BTW, anybody can do that! I get them from the avatar gallery loaded up here. Just go to your profile and pick one! bp

[draglist]

John, sounds like your sister has the best plan. It sucks, but he seems to be a danger not only to himself but to other innocents. Sorry about this. bp