In some ways this is a hard story to write, because my father passed away five years ago at least, and the wound still hurts when I think about him, and how he will never meet my future grandkids, or see my nieces grow up. I guess it’s all part of the life cycle.
Before my father’s death, I needed to get a car, and I asked my brother Bruce for advice. He suggested getting a car at a police auction. I asked him to get me a car that turned out to be a big mistake. He bought a car for about $50, and I guess you get what you pay for because it was filled with junk and had a million tickets. That should have been enough red flags for me. It turned out the brakes were in bad shape. Really bad shape. So bad I should have had them fixed but I didn’t have a lot of money. "Penny wise pound foolish." would be an appropriate way to look at this situation.
One day my father said he needed to get some things at the grocery store, and I didn’t think much about it. In retrospect, I should have had a mechanic inspect the car before I bought it, but I didn’t. Blame it on youth and inexperience. Although there are plenty of adults who neglect to do the same thing.
Unfortunately, my father drove the white station wagon down a windy steep road called ravine road, and then suddenly realized the brakes weren’t working. Talk about an “oh shit” moment. My father however didn’t panic and drove the car into a telephone pole and was able to stop the car as a result, but ended up wrecking both. Fortunately for us he wasn’t hurt, and I learned several important lessons from the accident.
Life Lesson 30: Cars can be replaced but people can’t. So the next time an offer sounds to good to be true, look closer to see if it is a good deal or not. You may or may not like what you find, but that detail might save someone’s life, and possibly prevent a lifetime of regret.
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