It was going to be a quiet evening. Really. I had to work 9-5 today, and Tim and Jon had to go to Grand Rapids this morning for the SAT subject tests, but then the Christmas Formal dance was this evening, which meant we would have the house to ourselves after the obligatory photo session.
So, before I even arrived home, the dance had been cancelled due to the snowstorm, and Jon had invited the entire cross country team to our house for a consolation party and Shrimp Scampi dinner. I was thinking about the shopping list when I pulled in the driveway, only to find Tim in the process of installing a jackpost to hold up the front of the garage. He had asked Gabe to pull the company van further up the driveway, but they discovered too late that Gabe couldn't quite reach the brakes, and he knocked out the center pillar of bricks between the doors.
The reason for moving the van was to get it into better position to jump start the Honda, which hadn't been driven since last weekend. That's when the hood latch gave out while Jon was driving down the expressway, and the hood flew up, turned inside out, and shattered the windshield. (We made him drive it the rest of the way home anyway, with sunglasses on just in case, after Tim beat the hood back into shape with a sledgehammer.)
Anyway, it's now almost 11:30, and I haven't had a chance to sit down yet. The dinner, which I ate standing in the kitchen because there was no more room at the table, was delicious. There are still 15 kids milling around my house eating Niki's birthday cake and laughing a lot. The kitchen is a disaster.
Ain't life grand?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Sounds like the old 'grandma is on the roof' joke. At least it ended with a warm meal in a warm house with a swarm of teenagers. Two outta three? Someday you'll look back at this time and say 'I"m glad those days are over.' My response to your final (rhetorical) question (with apologies to Steve Forbert) is: Compared to what?
Yeah. Hey, what do you know about the exact legalness, as it were, of having the still-14-year-old behind the wheel in our own driveway, insofar as it pertains to our homeowners insurance policy, which is with the same company as our auto policy? Not sure if or how much we need to stretch the truth for the protection of the innocent, if you know what I mean.
To what "innocents" do you refer, dear sister? The only ones I see in this little slice of Americana you were kind enough to share with us are the car that hit the pillar and the pillar. My "advice" (which is the kind that comes under the heading "you get what you pay for") is to say whatever you have to say to get it covered, plus whatever else you can pad the claim with to cover the price of any/all the deductibles.
Yes, I'm jaded. So sue me.
Yes, Ms. Mumby, I concur with counsel. And after debriefing your spouse and scion, am certain that you misstated who in fact was behind the wheel of the van. I'm sure Mister Mumby is embarrassed to admit that his snow-covered boot slid off the brake pedal and onto the exhilarator, but that is what actually occurred. The temptation to place his youngest son behind the wheel (and under the bus), while understandable, is unfair, immoral and illegal.
How much damage was sustained by the Company Van? And who is underwriting the liability on that vehicle?
Keep us up to date, please.
Excellent question! Turns out no one really asked, exactly, who was driving. Mr. Mumby will have to take the rap if we decide to file the claim because I am too slow and stupid to lie in the right place at the right time. I was so busy advoiding the question of who was at the wheel that I went right ahead and blurted out that the van was insured by The Company, but what did that matter, since the van was not injured in any noticeable way? Great big silly me. This is a no fault state, dontcha know. Apparently the only salient point here is that we do not own the vehicle in question, and therefore The Company is liable for the damages to our garage. Mr. Mumby, who has a meeting with all the owners of The Company on Wednesday to discuss partnership opportunities, does not wish to disclose the unfortunate incident, at least not at this juncture. The adjustor informed us this afternoon that it will take about $3,500 to repair the damage (including $500 for the "general contractor", which would be me, of course). The only hope he could offer me was that the company policy might specifically exclude property damage to employees' property, and so our insurance would then be responsible for payment. I'll be looking into that tomorrow.
ms. mumby, I laughed, as usual, through all the recitals of mishap and mayhem, and the resultant Q & A. Good luck with the insurance claim. mOMMA BEAR
BoPeep! Don't leave us flappin' in the breeze out here. We require particulars on the partnership summit and the latest lowdown from the various pencil counters and bean pushers currently edifying your inconsequential maladventure with their forthright and steely gaze.
Nothing new to report just yet. The wheels turn ever so slowly... When I have a spare few minutes I'll tell you about Jon's 18th birthday adventures instead. Much more fun!
Post a Comment