Sad Truck gone wild

Sad Car, meet Sad Truck
(which, incidentally, is located next door to my second favorite dilapidated car).

Sad Truck reminds of those ships that are sunk to make artificial reefs.

Masshole swiped my car

My day started and ended with car accidents.


I was traveling northeast on Centre St. in West Roxbury at about 6:23pm on Thursday, August 7, 2008, I was stopped in the right lane at the light at Corey Street. A commercial truck was next to me. A police car with lights and sirens came down Centre St. (heading northeast). I moved about as far to the right as I could. The small commercial truck to my left (in the left lane) suddenly seemed to be making an attempt to turn right onto Corey Street from the LEFT lane (at least that's what he appeared to be doing) by in front of my car. He cut WAY too close to the right. I began beeping to remind him of my presence. And then I heard a horrible scraping noise coming from the front end of my car (driver's side). Asshole had struck me. I honked and honked and honked, as the light turned green, he kept going straight down Centre Street. I pulled up next to him, honking and gesturing, trying to get his attention. I wanted us to pull over and exchange insurance info. But no. The masshole drove off down towards Belgrade Ave. Luckily I got his license plate number, as well as the name and phone number of the company he works for. I've already called an left a message with them. Now I have some nonsensical paperwork to fill out and return to the police.


I also got some pictures of the damage.

Crash!

Just passed by a terrible car accident on Rte. 140 South near Wrentham Center (just before the courthouse).

I wondered why the cars ahead of me were moving at such a glacial pace.

Motorcycle versus small SUV (Rav 4? CRV?). I got there before the first responders. There was a small group of people who looked distraught (understandably so) and a kid in the backseat of the SUV. I wondered if anyone had called 911 yet.

As I drove by, following the glacial pace of the cars in front of me, I saw not just the mangled motorcycle (Honda? Suzuki? Definitely something small and Japanese…), I saw two legs. Then I saw a man in a sort of twisted version of the fetal position. His helmet was still on, visor either open or gone completely, and blood streaming down his arm onto his t-shirt and probably the pavement. Not moving. But not dead either. Eyes open, he seemed to be looking straight at me. Blue eyes, I think. Then he blinked. Then I heard the sirens and pulled over to let them by. Hope the guy is alright.

R.I.P. Sad Car

The slow decay has ended. It seems that Sad Car has been put out to pasture.

It's been a little while since I've driven that particular stretch of VFW Parkway, but a friend recently alerted me about the disappearance of the familiar rotting hunk of metal and steel. (The once white sedan can even be seen in the aerial photo on the city's Property Data Viewer).

Sad Car made quite an impression on this West Roxbury (Roslindale?) property.

Without Sad Car guarding the garage like a dedicated sentry, Sad House has lost part of its identity . (J. adds that this "looks like the home where a serial killer lives.")

Kidnap encounter

I didn't blog about this until today because I've been busy. And because I had some trouble finding evidence of a real kidnapping until now.

Picture it, Allston, Massachusetts, a late Sunday night in June.

J. and I accidentally sort of drove by the scene of the crime. It began with me facing the wrong way on Harvard St. and trying not to be that asshole who pulls a u-turn in the middle of a busy street. I turned off of Harvard St. and was just trying to go around the block... bad idea. Glenville was blocked by a cop car and a bunch of fire trucks. And there we were on a one way street with no place to go.

Adding to the chaos was this white car in front of me. I thought he was trying to parallel park (badly). It seems that he was actually trying to turn around.. on a one way street! First I thought that maybe the cop told him to do that. But then I realized that if the cop was so keen on this guy driving out the wrong way, wouldn't he be trying to assist or attempt to turn me and the car behind me around too? By the time White Car Guy managed to complete the turn, said cop had driven away, allowing me free passage to Comm. Ave.

We must've gotten there towards the end of the action. Oh well. As I turned the corner heading towards Comm. Ave. I asked one of the people gathered on the street corner what was going on. "Kidnapping" replied a woman in her pyjamas. I sort of thought that she was just being flip. Until I ran across this.

The saddest car on the VFW

This is Sad Car.

I've watched this poor thing deteriorate over the past 5 years or so.


Back when I lived in RI, I'd drive past this rusty white car on my way up to Brookline to visit friends. When I moved to Boston 2 years ago, I was sort of surprised that it was still sitting there, rotting in the same driveway along VFW Parkway in West Roxbury Roslindale.



Every once in a while Carpool Buddy and I wonder aloud whether the neighbors complain about this eyesore and ponder how much it brings down their property values. I mean, would you want to live next door to Sad Car?

UPDATE:
I stand corrected. Sad Car lives in Roslindale.

The squeaky wheel that did not get the grease

No, that sound you hear isn't a train going by my car. It's coming from the truck and trailer in front of me. I was worried that something (a wheel? lug nut? random piece of metal?) was going to fly off that trailer and smack into my windshield.



Sorry for the bouncy camera, it was resting on the dashboard.

Yee?

As seen during this morning's commute.

Fresh wounds

While driving back from work, I arrived on this gristly scene not long after the cops, EMTs, and paramedics. I took the picture while waiting for the authorities to decide whether to re-route the traffic that was quickly accumulating on this 2 lane road. I figured I was waiting because of some sort of accident, but didn't see any mangled cars. I did not expect to see what I did after being waved through the intersection.

Intersection of Village Street and Forest Road in Millis, MA.

Right behind the car with its door ajar, there was a mangled motorcycle and a pool of deep red, slick and shiny liquid. Fresh blood.

I don't know what became of the motorcyclist, but I hope that s/he survived.

UPDATE:
Sadly, I've since found out that the motorcyclist did not make it.

Construction craziness - Will it ever end?

My commute is like a soap opera. I am on the edge of my (car) seat every morning.

Will the left lane on VFW Parkway be closed this morning? Or will it be the right lane? Will the stupid retail construction and its overflow of paving mess be spewing onto Route 1 this morning? Will it be finished in time for football season? Or will the Patriots be forced to play in a stadium surrounded by piles of dirt and gravel? Do I take I-95 and risk getting caught in a tangle of traffic at the Split?

Ultimate Masshole: Office Edition

This story of Massholism comes from a co-worker.

When her family first moved to Worcester from NYC in 2001, R's dad inherited a dilapidated Buick from her great aunt. It was a sad car, just on the verge of falling apart, but he figured it was would do until they got settled and he bought a new car. One day, R and her dad were in the supermarket when over the loudspeaker they hear "will the owner of a blue Buick, license plate YYY-ZZXX, come to the customer service counter."

It turns out that an elderly man had hit the Buick as it sat in the supermarket's lot, parked nicely between the lines of the parking spot. R's dad, a mellow guy, took it in stride. He wasn't angry he told the man, since it was a shitty old car and he was planning to sell the Buick for parts in the near future. The senior citizen, who had knocked one of his own headlights out when he ran into the Buick, was livid. He blamed R's dad for the way the Buick was parked.

Welcome to Massachusetts.

Monster puddle swallows car?

This picture of what I believe to be a car's bumper floating in a large puddle was taken through my rain-soaked car window on VFW Parkway this morning.

Behold, the car that floats

Amphibious car chugging down the Charles River, as viewed from the Esplanade.