INCREDIBLE!!! FANTASTIC!!!...

...aren't words I would use to describe this post. It's been a  busy time 'round these here parts. I have become close with the couple who live upstairs. It's almost like family. Well Joe was going into Boston to see a doctor and while he was waiting for his appointment he began suffering chest pains. To make a long story short, that was last Monday the 16th. He was admitted right away and shortly afterwards had quadruple bypass surgery. As of this writing he is still in the hospital. At this point I am unclear as to how he is doing. I have spoken to his wife but she is quite shaken and that was two days ago. Joe's a good guy, in fact they are both very nice people. I hope all works out well for Joe and Joanna. 

Now on to the annoyance part of our program. Last year I had a little mix up with the car dealership where I bought my car. I won't go into detail except to say what annoyed me most wasn't the fact that there was one repair they couldn't get right, it was the phone messages I would find on three consecutive days. "Hello Mr. (fill in the blank) this is (fill in the blank) dealership. Would you please call us back. It concerns your car."

Now I am not a genius but I figured out right away that when the dealership where I had left my car, calls me, it concerns my car. I don't have to be told that. Just tell me what the concern is like, "I'm sorry sir, the hood mounted machine guns you requested are still out of stock."

Now flash forward to the present. I have been having a problem with one of the wheels on my car. One tire is leaking air and it's not the tire but the wheel it's on. It's not like the old days, you would have a steel wheel then they slapped a hub cap on it. Unless they are damaged in a collision with a curb they can last forever. They aren't pretty but they're pretty durable. Now if you have a chrome plated alloy or aluminum wheels as most cars come equipped with these days, guess what? Not only are they less rugged but they can deteriorate. My wheels were falling apart right in front of my eyes at least visually. A couple of years ago my mechanic had my car up on the lift for a routine oil change and he looked at my wheels and said, "What crappy wheels! The chrome plating is coming off."
And underneath the departed chrome, it was black and ugly.

They were getting very ugly and one of them wouldn't seal properly. The car itself is in very good shape and hasn't given me any problems at all. It has been rock solid for 5 years. So the decision was made. I had to buy 4 new wheels plus two tires. I poked around the internet and found a rather large chain of tire/wheel dealers who also do routine maintenance. I'll try to make this as brief as possible. I went in to the shop two Saturdays ago to shop for the wheels and tires. I buy the wheels and tires and make an appointment for the upcoming Monday at 8 a.m. 8a.m. Monday I show up and they tell me their truck hasn't arrived it will be there at 9:30. I go home, go back. I tell them specifically put the new tires on the front. Then save the wheel from the drivers side rear as it is only a year old, and save the tire, the better of the two old tires, from the right front passenger side so I can have a full sized spare. I don't want the other 3 wheels. This is all typed into the computer and I am given a copy. I wait 2 and a half hours  They tell me my car is all set. Now everybody else's car has been driven back to the front when their done. I can't find it on the lot. Just on an inkling I walk around the building to where the repair bays are, and there it is. I'm not thrilled that they didn't drive it around like the others. I decide to check the trunk for the full sized spare. I see two full sized spares. They are each wrapped with a plastic cover with the company logo on it. I tear into both of them...wait that makes me sound like a maniac. I tore the plastic cover to see if at least they had the right wheel mounted with the right tire.. They didn't. Where are the other wheels then? They were in the back seat. One of which was the only one I wanted to keep in the first place. Then I look at the tires. They were on the back instead of the front.

I'll skip all my grumbling to the management. And the, "We promise to make it right sir!" speech. After that I still had to return in 25 miles to, and I quote, "Have my lug nuts re-torqued." 
They're quite torqued enough, thank you.
I shoulda gone to Sears.

I know, this was kind of a long, drawn out, rambling babble. It's been that kind of week.
That's it. I'm done.

I'm outta here.