Too much drama

I spent a few days in New York with my friend Barbara.  She also volunteers at Habitat.  The campground we stayed in was very expensive, so I expected a much more luxurious facility.  I guess the expense was for location, location, location.  This was a bare bones place, not much more than  a parking lot with really nice electric hookup boxes.  But the location was fabulous, a few blocks walk to the train that dropped us off right at the World Trade Center.  That made the 911 memorial our first stop.  We basically followed a large crowd, expecting a very long wait.  While the line was very long, it moved quickly and we were in in no time.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the memorial was very impressive. 

THE 9/11 MEMORIAL is located at the site of the former World Trade Center complex, and occupies approximately half of the 16-acre site. The 9/11 Memorial features two enormous waterfalls and reflecting pools, each about an acre in size, set within the footprints of the original twin towers. The Memorial Plaza is one of the most eco-friendly plazas ever constructed. More than 400 trees are planned for the plaza, surrounding the Memorial's two massive reflecting pools. Its design conveys a spirit of hope and renewal, and creates a contemplative space separate from the usual sights and sounds of a bustling metropolis.

While at the memorial, on Memorial day, the Marines were performing a wreath ceremony. I happened to be standing right in front and when they saluted, I saluted.  Old habits die hard, but I immediately realized I should not have saluted in civilian clothes.  Oops, awkward…

After lunch we split up and I spent the rest of the day wandering around the city.  We’ve both been there before and aside from the 911 memorial, we had no specific destination in mind.  I went to China Town in search of a good foot massage which I’m happy to report, I found,  Barbara walked across the Brooklyn bridge.  We met up for a dinner of Thai food and called it a day. On Tuesday we headed out in the rain and it just got worse as the day went on.  It didn’t stop us from walking from the World Trade Center to Time Square, a walk that took most of the day.  We had a great Turkish lunch, I had enough left over for dinner and lunch the next day too.  We decided to do our own thing on Wednesday. I wanted to drive along the Jersey shore looking at light houses.  Alas, I didn’t see a single one.  After Sandy, they built a huge sand dune along the coast line and I couldn’t see anything.  I enjoyed the drive though. 

Thursday I was heading from Jersey City NJ to Wellesley Island State Park, about 6 hours away, near the Canadian border.  I drove for about 2 hours, just crossing into Pennsylvania when my check engine light came on.  About 20 minutes later I started up what I later found out was 5 mile hill.  It’s a long hill with a 5% grade.  Midway up, I noticed smoke coming out of the engine and pulled off the road.  I admit, my first thought was engine fire.  I jumped out and ran back to the RV to grab a fire extinguisher (and my laptop).  I raced back to the truck and looked at the engine as best I could without raising the hood.  Lots of smoke but no flames.   My next thought was to unhook the trailer, so worst case scenario, I just lose the truck and not the RV too.  I actually dropped the jacks and started to unhook when I realized I had no way to prevent the RV from rolling back down the hill.  I raced back to the engine, but still no flames.  I decided it wasn’t actually on fire and raised the hood for a better look.  More smoke, but no fire.  I could see something dripping from the engine block, turns out it was diesel fuel.  Lucky for me, diesel doesn’t burn like gasoline does and it never ignited. 

I called Good Sam road side assistance, just as a Penn State Trooper pulled up.  The reason I have Good Sam and not AAA is because they deal with RV’s.  So imagine my surprise when the dispatcher told me 3 time over the course of the next hour that she could get a tow truck for my truck, but I would have to leave the RV there.  State Trooper said no can do, the RV has to be moved.  He provided her with some local towing companies that could tow the RV, but it still took her forever to get back to me.  I broke down at 0740, but it wasn’t till after 10 that a tow truck arrived.  He said he had never towed an RV before but was sure he could do it.  When I saw what he wanted to chock the RV with, I knew that would never stop it from rolling down the hill.  All he had were 2 blocks of wood. I know he thought I was being a nervous nanny, but I insisted on was driving my truck a little further down the road, to get off the hill. It took him about 45 min to figure how to connect it.  First he couldn’t find a hitch pin clip to connect the hitch attachment to the tow truck.  I had an extra and gave it to him.  Next, he couldn’t find a bigger pin to fasten the hitch attachment to the RV.  He finally decided to take a chain and wrap it around everything.  When he started out, he stayed on the shoulder of the road instead of pulling into traffic right away.  About 500 feet down the road he calmly announced “oh, I’ve lost the trailer”.  2 things saved us from a total disaster.  My insistence on getting to level ground and his decision to drive on the shoulder to make sure everything stayed connected.  We got out and looked at the damage.  The 5^th wheel had come completely off the tow truck and slammed  down on the ground, ramming the landing gear up into the interior.  We couldn’t tell how much damage was done, but the feet were stuck and the motor wouldn’t work at all.  He called his boss who told him where to find the correct pin.  We were soon under way again, but now his tow truck was belching smoke.  Seems he was having engine problems, we couldn’t go above about 25 mph.  He had a CB and we got to listen to all the truckers giving him a hard time.  He was pretty good natured about it and  eventually we made it to the camp ground.  We were able to get one of the feet unstuck with the help of a hammer.  The other wouldn’t budge and the motor was still not working.  The campground owner provided me with a cinder block and we managed to get it relatively level.  The foot that was down was noticeably crooked, I was a little worried the whole thing would collapse on me. 

We headed back out to get my truck and by now the tow truck would barely go 10 mph.  The day was quickly disappearing and I was starving.  We made it back to his shop, got another truck and got my truck loaded without incident.  We arrived at the dealer at about 4pm.  Alas, they could not work on my truck, they only had one diesel mechanic and he was going on leave the next day.  He did agree to look at it while they called around to find another dealer.  After about an hour they determined it was most likely a defective switch of some kind.  And there was diesel fuel ALL OVER the underside of my truck, even by the back wheels.  They couldn’t find a leak, but said it should be ok to drive to the other dealer.  It most likely leaked from the stress of pulling the RV up the steep grade while having mechanical problems.  The check engine light had gone off and it was no longer leaking fuel.  I decided I had had enough for the day, it was now 5pm.  The other dealer was expecting me at 0730 in the morning, so I headed  back to the campground. 

The tow truck driver was a nice kid Mitch.  Early 20’s, well meaning, but he never even said sorry for screwing up your rv.  He said the company would not pay for the damage, it would have to come out of his pocket.  I’m pretty sure he has no idea the extend of the damage, he thinks it’s just a stuck foot,  And he acted like he was doing me a favor by only charging me 5 hours of towing.  Actually, he charged Good Sam, they paid the towing bill.  I had been talking to Good Sam all along and told them about the broken tow truck etc, so I’m not sure how much of the bill they will actually pay.  Had it been me paying, I wouldn’t have paid anything till the RV was fixed. 

I spent the next day at the Dodge dealer, but they got my truck fixed.  Unlike the problem in SC, this was not under warranty and it cost almost $1000.  The dealer was really nice, they got my lunch when they went out and gave me all kind of discounts, so the bill ended up being about $800.  And they had free WIFI so I got to catch up on some TV episodes I was behind on.

The next morning, Saturday, I was ready to continue on my way when I realized I couldn’t get my RV hooked up to my truck.  It was too low and of course, the motor was blown.  Some old fella’s saw me and decided to come lend a hand.  What I needed were some hand jacks to jack the whole thing up.  They had some, but they didn’t work.  They then put their thinking caps on.  What if we got a tractor and lift the whole thing?  That wouldn’t work, I had to be able to get the truck underneath it and the tractor would be in the way.  For the next 20 min they kept suggesting variations of the tractor solution.  Finally I said thanks, I’ll just go to Home Depot and buy the jacks.  On the way out I ran into the campground owner who had some jacks.  We headed back and were met by the old men.  They told him all we needed to do was get his tractor and raise it up.  He said that wouldn’t work, she needs to be able to get the truck in there and tractor would be in the way.  Oh right they said.  Sometimes I just want to choke people!!!  He was able to get the motor running, but it blew fuses in a few seconds.  By going in short bursts and an entire box of 30 amp fuses, we were able to raise the RV enough to get it hooked up and I was on my way, 2 hours later.  I cleaned out the camp store of fuses on my way out.  I arrived at Wellesley Island State Park a few hours later without incident.  My site was too short to leave everything attached, so with the last of my fuses, I got the 5^th wheel unhooked and got set up.  I needed a nap!!

On Monday morning I headed out to an RV dealer to assess the damage.  He said the frame was bent, the damage was too extensive for him.  He suggested a nearby auto body shop that did some frame work.  He said they way the jacks were bent, it was not safe to use them.  The whole thing could crumple inward.  He suggested auto jacks until I could get the repairs done.  I made my way to the auto body shop only to be told they couldn’t handle the work either, I need a fabrication shop.  They called 3 in the local area, but none could do the work.  They finally found one 2 hours away who repaired 18 wheelers.  They said come on over, we’ll take a look.  I arrived and they took a good look at everything.  They showed me where the metal frame was crinkled, where the jack bolts have been moved upward and where the frame itself had noticeable waves in it.  Not to mention the bolt for the hand crank was shoved so far up that I couldn’t even get the crank attached.  They said come back on Wednesday and they would try to have me out the same day.  if not, they would hook me up to power and let me spend the night in the parking lot.

In order to be there when they opened on Wednesday morning, I had to leave the campground at 0400.  Damn that’s early!  But I got there and they got everything done by 430 that afternoon.  Between the cost of the repairs, gas and tolls, Mitch owes me $1350.  He said he’ll get it to me in 3 payments if that’s ok.  I gotta say, it’s pretty shitty that the company he works for wont just file an insurance claim.  But he seems like a good guy and who among us haven’t make some mistakes at work.  As long as he sticks to his word, and I believe he will, I’m good with letting him make payments.  If not, then I’ll just turn it all over to Good Sam for reimbursement and let them go after the company. 

Now that I’m back on track, I have a chance to open my package of mail.  What’s this from the IRS?  You say I didn’t show my retirement income in 2011 and I owe you almost $10,000?  After digging out all my paperwork and looking at the file I saved from Turbo Tax, there it is big as day, the w-2 declaring my retirement income from DFAS .  Holy shit, now I have to fight with the IRS!!!  Who did I piss off in this world?????  Is this how they are paying for the line dancing lessons and Star Trek videos?????  Granted, it should be a fight easy enough to win, but with how much hassle?  My BFF Sylvia said she got a notice that she hadn’t paid her taxes one year.  When she sent them the cancelled check, they demanded she tell them who in the IRS had cashed it. 

Pictures of NYC: https://plus.google.com/photos/118205599704530902363/albums/5886938575221303441?authkey=CKnDgque2MOIRg