Transported car turned out to be worth it

I wrote about my concerns in having a '99 Ford Escort trailered down from
New York to Philly, and the accompanying quote of $585.00. I wrote about the
fact that the car had sat idle for a year, and that the only two things I
knew for certain were that the battery was dead and there was a bees' nest
inside the driver's door.

Well, we managed to retrieve The Boy's Escort from New York and I drove it
home to Pennsylvania, where it goes into the shop on Wednesday for a full
look-see.

Near as I can figure, our 5 hours of travel time saved $600 in transport
charges, and we were damned lucky that the car finally started up.

http://www.tfrog93.com/digitals/daily/daily.htm for visuals, including an
unexpected surprise... (Well, in truth, what would an expected surprise
be?)

dwight
www.tfrog93.com

I think the biggest surprise should be that it had all four wheels still
attached to the car after sitting there that long.

dwight wrote:
> I wrote about my concerns in having a '99 Ford Escort trailered down from
> New York to Philly, and the accompanying quote of $585.00. I wrote about the
> fact that the car had sat idle for a year, and that the only two things I
> knew for certain were that the battery was dead and there was a bees' nest
> inside the driver's door.
>
> Well, we managed to retrieve The Boy's Escort from New York and I drove it
> home to Pennsylvania, where it goes into the shop on Wednesday for a full
> look-see.
>
> Near as I can figure, our 5 hours of travel time saved $600 in transport
> charges, and we were damned lucky that the car finally started up.
>
> http://www.tfrog93.com/digitals/daily/daily.htm for visuals, including an
> unexpected surprise... (Well, in truth, what would an expected surprise
> be?)

"Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
...
>I think the biggest surprise should be that it had all four wheels still
>attached to the car after sitting there that long.

That's Tarrytown for you. Right next to Sleepy Hollow (yes, that Sleepy
Hollow) along the Hudson, north enough of New York City to be a whole
'nother place.

dwight

> dwight wrote:
>> I wrote about my concerns in having a '99 Ford Escort trailered down from
>> New York to Philly, and the accompanying quote of $585.00. I wrote about
>> the fact that the car had sat idle for a year, and that the only two
>> things I knew for certain were that the battery was dead and there was a
>> bees' nest inside the driver's door.
>>
>> Well, we managed to retrieve The Boy's Escort from New York and I drove
>> it home to Pennsylvania, where it goes into the shop on Wednesday for a
>> full look-see.
>>
>> Near as I can figure, our 5 hours of travel time saved $600 in transport
>> charges, and we were damned lucky that the car finally started up.
>>
>> http://www.tfrog93.com/digitals/daily/daily.htm for visuals, including an
>> unexpected surprise... (Well, in truth, what would an expected surprise
>> be?)

Michael Johnson wrote:
> I think the biggest surprise should be that it had all four wheels still
> attached to the car after sitting there that long.
>



Idunno, that's a pretty healthy surprise hovering behind that fuel
tank door....

dwight wrote:
> "Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I think the biggest surprise should be that it had all four wheels still
>> attached to the car after sitting there that long.
>
> That's Tarrytown for you. Right next to Sleepy Hollow (yes, that Sleepy
> Hollow) along the Hudson, north enough of New York City to be a whole
> 'nother place.

I went up to Bridgeport, CT for a funeral last fall and came back west
of NYC instead of another horrible trip down I-95. We went through some
beautiful little towns and you wouldn't think NYC was so close. The
traffic, or I should say the drivers, however were unbelievable.

We were in line to get off I-95 just north of NYC and the off-ramp we
were on was next to the on-ramp. It took a second to notice but the
traffic on the on-ramp was going the same direction as us! They were
just driving to the entrance ramp and using it as an exit! I told my
wife "Where's a cop when you need one" and just then a local cop drove
by the entrance/exit for the ramps. He looked right at the traffic
going the wrong way, didn't blink an eye and drove right past! It was
one of the more surreal things I have witnessed. This was just one of
about a half dozen bizarre traffic events we encountered.

I guess my point is the people in those quaint little towns may not
steal tires but they certainly don't pay much attention to traffic signs
or laws.

>> dwight wrote:
>>> I wrote about my concerns in having a '99 Ford Escort trailered down from
>>> New York to Philly, and the accompanying quote of $585.00. I wrote about
>>> the fact that the car had sat idle for a year, and that the only two
>>> things I knew for certain were that the battery was dead and there was a
>>> bees' nest inside the driver's door.
>>>
>>> Well, we managed to retrieve The Boy's Escort from New York and I drove
>>> it home to Pennsylvania, where it goes into the shop on Wednesday for a
>>> full look-see.
>>>
>>> Near as I can figure, our 5 hours of travel time saved $600 in transport
>>> charges, and we were damned lucky that the car finally started up.
>>>
>>> http://www.tfrog93.com/digitals/daily/daily.htm for visuals, including an
>>> unexpected surprise... (Well, in truth, what would an expected surprise
>>> be?)
>
>

"Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
...
> dwight wrote:
>>
>> That's Tarrytown for you. Right next to Sleepy Hollow (yes, that Sleepy
>> Hollow) along the Hudson, north enough of New York City to be a whole
>> 'nother place.
>
> I went up to Bridgeport, CT for a funeral last fall and came back west of
> NYC instead of another horrible trip down I-95. We went through some
> beautiful little towns and you wouldn't think NYC was so close. The
> traffic, or I should say the drivers, however were unbelievable.
>
> We were in line to get off I-95 just north of NYC and the off-ramp we were
> on was next to the on-ramp. It took a second to notice but the traffic on
> the on-ramp was going the same direction as us! They were just driving to
> the entrance ramp and using it as an exit! I told my wife "Where's a cop
> when you need one" and just then a local cop drove by the entrance/exit
> for the ramps. He looked right at the traffic going the wrong way, didn't
> blink an eye and drove right past! It was one of the more surreal things
> I have witnessed. This was just one of about a half dozen bizarre traffic
> events we encountered.
>
> I guess my point is the people in those quaint little towns may not steal
> tires but they certainly don't pay much attention to traffic signs or
> laws.

It's mob rule. Take a ride in a NYC taxicab. If ever you thought you were
something special behind the wheel...

It's sick. Old farts like me who were taught to share the road...we're lost
up there. We're fresh meat. It really does become kill-or-be-killed. And
it's not just the traffic.

At a convention hotel in Manhattan, I made the mistake of holding an
elevator door for two aged women. That elevator filled to beyond capacity in
seconds flat, and I was left watching the doors close from the outside.
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! NEVER be polite, NEVER yield to anyone - it's a sign
of weakness and it's blood in the water.

I hate New York.

The aggressive arrogance of New Yorkers has spread to the suburbs, and is
working its way further out year after year. These IDIOTS move further out
to "get away" from the very aggressive arrogance that they carry with them,
so more and more communities are spoiled. As far as I'm concerned, they can
put that U.S.-Mexico Wall around New York City and turn it into Snake
Pliskin's penal colony.

Did I mention that I HATE New York?

dwight
www.tfrog93.com

dwight wrote:
> "Michael Johnson" > wrote in message
> ...
>> dwight wrote:
>>> That's Tarrytown for you. Right next to Sleepy Hollow (yes, that Sleepy
>>> Hollow) along the Hudson, north enough of New York City to be a whole
>>> 'nother place.
>> I went up to Bridgeport, CT for a funeral last fall and came back west of
>> NYC instead of another horrible trip down I-95. We went through some
>> beautiful little towns and you wouldn't think NYC was so close. The
>> traffic, or I should say the drivers, however were unbelievable.
>>
>> We were in line to get off I-95 just north of NYC and the off-ramp we were
>> on was next to the on-ramp. It took a second to notice but the traffic on
>> the on-ramp was going the same direction as us! They were just driving to
>> the entrance ramp and using it as an exit! I told my wife "Where's a cop
>> when you need one" and just then a local cop drove by the entrance/exit
>> for the ramps. He looked right at the traffic going the wrong way, didn't
>> blink an eye and drove right past! It was one of the more surreal things
>> I have witnessed. This was just one of about a half dozen bizarre traffic
>> events we encountered.
>>
>> I guess my point is the people in those quaint little towns may not steal
>> tires but they certainly don't pay much attention to traffic signs or
>> laws.
>
> It's mob rule. Take a ride in a NYC taxicab. If ever you thought you were
> something special behind the wheel...
>
> It's sick. Old farts like me who were taught to share the road...we're lost
> up there. We're fresh meat. It really does become kill-or-be-killed. And
> it's not just the traffic.
>
> At a convention hotel in Manhattan, I made the mistake of holding an
> elevator door for two aged women. That elevator filled to beyond capacity in
> seconds flat, and I was left watching the doors close from the outside.
> STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! NEVER be polite, NEVER yield to anyone - it's a sign
> of weakness and it's blood in the water.
>
> I hate New York.
>
> The aggressive arrogance of New Yorkers has spread to the suburbs, and is
> working its way further out year after year. These IDIOTS move further out
> to "get away" from the very aggressive arrogance that they carry with them,
> so more and more communities are spoiled. As far as I'm concerned, they can
> put that U.S.-Mexico Wall around New York City and turn it into Snake
> Pliskin's penal colony.
>
> Did I mention that I HATE New York?

I have never been to NYC proper and really have no fascination to visit.
I do know that my throat burns when I get close to NYC on I-95 and
there is an eerie orange haze in the air. The first time I ran up I-95
going to Maine and crossed the George Washington Bridge I thought Scotty
had beamed us to Beirut, Lebanon just after the Israelis came through.
There were cars all over the shoulders in both directions. If you
break down there just walk out and go buy a new car because yours will
be a shell of its former self in five minutes.

The thing about the natives using the on-ramp as an off-ramp is there
were so many doing it. Traffic was backed up just as bad on their side
as it was on our side. After that we went through a section where
earlier something ran off the road and hit a sizable (say 12"-14" tree.
There were huge tree limbs and a piece of the trunk that had been left
in the road and had been so many times they were turning into mulch.
The tree trunk had been turned and was lying on the white dashes
separating our two lanes of a four lane road. I bet it is still lying
there rotting away.

Then we went a couple miles further and a car was lying upside down,
smashed to hell in the center of our two lanes. It had apparently
jumped the center barrier during a crash. There were ambulances in the
oncoming two lanes pulling someone from another car that had barreled
into a huge tree along the road. It looked like someone set off an IED.
There was no traffic control on our side of the road. Not one police
officer. We just split our two lanes around each side of the upside
down car and everyone acted like this was just another typical evening
commute home. For all I knew someone was probably bleeding to death in
the upside down car but no one seemed to be all that concerned over it.

"dwight" > wrote in message
...
>I wrote about my concerns in having a '99 Ford Escort trailered down from
>New York to Philly, and the accompanying quote of $585.00. I wrote about
>the fact that the car had sat idle for a year, and that the only two things
>I knew for certain were that the battery was dead and there was a bees'
>nest inside the driver's door.

Dude, I don't think those are "Bees". Look like friggin wasps to me. I'll
bet you closed the door nice and slow!

Yeouch!

>
> Well, we managed to retrieve The Boy's Escort from New York and I drove it
> home to Pennsylvania, where it goes into the shop on Wednesday for a full
> look-see.
>
> Near as I can figure, our 5 hours of travel time saved $600 in transport
> charges, and we were damned lucky that the car finally started up.
>
> http://www.tfrog93.com/digitals/daily/daily.htm for visuals, including an
> unexpected surprise... (Well, in truth, what would an expected surprise
> be?)
>
> dwight
> www.tfrog93.com
>
>
>

"Jeff Mayner" > wrote in message
...
>
> "dwight" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I wrote about my concerns in having a '99 Ford Escort trailered down from
>>New York to Philly, and the accompanying quote of $585.00. I wrote about
>>the fact that the car had sat idle for a year, and that the only two
>>things I knew for certain were that the battery was dead and there was a
>>bees' nest inside the driver's door.
>
> Dude, I don't think those are "Bees". Look like friggin wasps to me. I'll
> bet you closed the door nice and slow!
>
> Yeouch!

Yellow jackets. I hate yellow jackets. Bees put me in the hospital when I
was only six years old, but it was my fault. I picked up a nest and tried to
throw it at my older brother.

But yellow jackets and wasps... Can't stand 'em. I'm okay with regular bees,
but these guys are pure attack bees.

>shudder<

dwight