So the cops found the van down in Oroville. They called thursday with "Hey we found your van, it's at whatchacallit towing in Oroville." (There's a suprise.. The Meth capitol of the world... Nope, tweakers never steal stuff...) That's all the information they had for me. Nothing about it's condition, was anyone caught, what happens next, nothing. A simple "here you go..." I expected a little more out of them, but ... So anyway I called the insurance and they wanted to check it out before they released it to me. So the adjuster did, and apparently there was some damage to the front so he had it towed to a shop up here. I went and looked at it with him friday & the front grill & hood are all cracked / smashed, bumper, fender.... All the things you'd expect to be screwed up from rear-ending something are. So I get to pay my $500 theft & my $500 collision deductables. I'm going to ask about the collision as if it hadn't been stolen it wouldn't have been wrecked. Sure some of that (a tiny bit) damage was there from before when I tapped some guy a couple months ago, but that (my) damage and the new damage are to the same spot so they'd have to fix the old stuff in the process of fixing the new stuff anyway. So I guess it's worth a try.
What's all that shit in there you ask? Well, obviously it's not mine as how the hell would I get the damn chair in there? Yup, looks like the rat bastard who stole the thing was living in it. Couldn't find a pile of stranger stuff on purpose tho. The big barrel's empty, so I used it for alot of the trash as I rooted through to see how much of my stuff was missing. (The policy only covers like $200 of personal stuff, so remember that when you leave something spendy in your car overnite, like a $5,000 Rotax engine) There was a ropin' (like goats) rope & case, a whole shitload of 'left outside the thrift store' clothes, some ferrier's rasps, some 'ol busted electrinic somethings (vcr / record player? What the hell is this thing?) a 5 gallon bucket 3/5ths full of wrenches & sockets, a big 'ol set of bolt cutters, (betcha I find lotsa uses for those...) and all kinds of shredded ... Looks like 'home office' type stuff. canceled checks from 1990, accounting paperwork, stuff like that... A couple cases of rap cd's.. Snoop, Bone Thugs, that sort of crap, And immigation papers for a couple mexicans.
They left all the small expensive things- A valentine 1 radar detector and a Thommen altimiter, left us 2 pieces in the pound bag of Riley's (blue) Nick bought when we were up in Quincy seein the new nephew (when your sister has a kid, right?) so I threw that out... Who knows where their hands have been.. I'd grabbed a milk crate of books at the house and those were all spread out through the mix, my boonie cap was still in there... And all my maps. Almost looked like they boxed / bagged up all my crap, put it off to the side, and loaded all theirs in. Amazes me that someone could create such a mess in (what) 4 days.
So one of these days in the near future I'm going to call or go to the cops and see if I can't get s'more information about who what when where they found it and who (if anyone) was with it at the time. Then I'm going to see about getting my deductable out of whoever they caught, if anyone. I sure hope so, as I don't have $1000 to just hand to someone at the moment.
So they've got me driving a Monte Carlo now- It's fun. That's right, driving is fun again. I've decided that my next vehicle isn't going to be a van, it's going to be a car. I wasn't ever the "lookit my lifted big tires rollbar KC lighted hillbilly powerwagonÕ type- I had no need for that. Yes, the van gets me around, but it eats me alive when I fill it with gas. I can't reach the windshield to wash it the things so damn tall. So yeah, a car's the next thing. With some kind of modified chair topper as I have a rigid frame, and I don't want to be haulin' the thing across myself all the time. (It sits in the passenger's seat, so I have to lift the frame over myself after takin' the wheels off to get it there. It's a hastle.) Ideally I would take the wheels off, and the little crane thing would come get the chair and put the rest of the frame in the box on top of the car. Then when I stopped, it would take it out for me. I'm not aware of a product for rigid frames tho, so I may have to make / modify one for my personal use.
Pain from using the old cusion wasn't too bad today (prolly because I've doubled the methadone) but for some reason my middle & upper back are SO tight (m uscles) and painfull to the touch- When I transfer and my weight is suspended from my shoulders that's when it's REALLY painfull. I dunno if it's the car seat, or the cusion change, or what the hell it is but it caused me to crawl into bed at 6 this evening as I couldn't handle it anymore. I'm usually "up" till 9 or 10 at least... So I sure hope that cusion gets here soon. I have to do some more legwork tomorro I bet.
I have a suspicion... When I call OWCP or write to them askin' for something (tires, cusion, etc) I may not be asking the right place. I guess ACS deals with that sort of stuff, but it has to be authorised by OWCP, so maybe I have to start with them, I don't know. But here's what's been happening: I call / fax asking for something. Usually I have to leave a message. I wait a week or so, then call and ask a human what's up with it. That's when they tell me I have to go get a perscription and deal with ACS, who when I show the Rx says "Well this isn't authorised". It's "pass the buck itis." I also think that the claims examiner isn't bothering to pick up the phone and call to tell me what I need to do, because she never has. I've had to figure all this shit out on my own. But I think they figure if they give the general public the run-around for long enough then we'll just give up and say "Well I can live without it"... Problem for me and them is I cannot live without it. Just pisses me off that every time I need a wheelchair part I have to get a perscription. I'm in a goddamn wheelchair, alright? Do I really need a perscription for tires for crissakes?
Whatever....
I'm drafting a letter though that should get me some answers. We'll see.
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