[DeTomaso] Misery loves company

[Christopher Kimball]

So yesterday I figure it's time to start (finally) moving some of the huge piles of junk from the garage back into the house so we can transfer the four big, 7-foot-tall, empty bookshelves back in the house and start once again actually parking the SUV where it belongs.

As my sons, David, Donny and I begin carrying things into the house, I accidentally whack my elbow into one of the bookshelves.  Because it's tall and empty, it tips over easily, and like a scene from a bad Walt Disney movie, a domino effect begins.  I watch in horror as the initial bookshelf falls into another, which in turn hits two others; both of which fall directly on top of--you guessed it--the Pantera.

In what seemed like slow motion I yelled, "Nooooooooo!" but there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Vicki heard my exclamation and came out to see what had happened.  The car was under its car cover, and frankly, I was afraid to look.  She told me I might as well see what happened, so with help from Donny and David I pulled off the offending bookshelves and removed the cover.

The good news is the bookshelf on the right hit the stainless steel rain gutter above the driver's side window and, miraculously, there seems to be no damage from that impact.

The front of the car wasn't so lucky, unfortunately.  One vertical corner of the second bookshelf hit the leading edge of the front fender on the drivers side and dented it.  It could have been much worse, but nonetheless, what was a pristine car now has a dent.  

The location of the dent is directly above a body joint, midway between the front wheel well and the windshield, so I don't think one of those paint-less dent removal places can do anything about it, although I'm going to see what they say.  My other option is to take it to a body shop for an estimate, but I shudder to think what a) that will cost, and/or b) what it will do to my insurance rates if I make a claim.

At least I have a quart of the exact body-color paint.

Actually, it could have been a lot worse.  If one of those bookshelves had hit David or Donny, they might have been seriously injured.

The bookshelves are now being stored horizontally.

Chris
#3846