Until this Christmas (in my eighth decade of living) I thought the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas” was just a story. Grinches don’t really exist, right? Ah, but they do! And — I think the Grinch’s last name is Murphy, that damned Irishman who has followed me around for decades sabotaging my work. I’ve always believed in Murphy’s laws and now I believe the Grinch is a Murphy sibling only he’s far worse than any of his relatives (the Grinch is male isn’t he?).
Here’s the story. My lovely wife Robin is a highly talented artist. She makes very colorful jewelry from anodized aluminum, titanium and niobium and she does her own anodizing. That means that the brilliant colors in her jewelry are part of the metal. They can’t fade, won’t rub off and they’re all hypoallergenic. Robin has been very successful selling her creations at art shows all over the South and Midwest, so successful that we are travelling to a show almost every weekend. After considerable thought we decided staying in motels, boarding our dogs (Ziggy and Reilly) and eating in restaurants was expensive and inconvenient, not to mention boring. We also thought that we needed a little adventure so we bought a 2010 20 foot camper and a full size van to pull it. The experience has been wonderful and the dogs love it, too. Actually I am writing this piece while in the camper at an RV site that provides internet service.
We had two other cars, a 2006 Toyota Sienna minivan and a 2003 Honda Accord. The Accord was in mint condition, not a scratch on it. Not needing three vehicles we put the Honda up for sale on the internet and surprise, surprise we had a buyer in a couple of days. A man from Pensacola, Florida wanted it as a Christmas present for his 16 year old daughter.
Overwhelmed with my success as a used car salesman I had the car fully serviced and detailed — it looked like it just came off the showroom floor. The buyer told me he wanted to pick the car up on December 24 so he could give it to his daughter that night. I parked the Honda in my driveway and didn’t drive it again for fear something would happen to it.
At noon on December 23rd, one of Robin’s visitors backed out of our driveway and, CRASH, ran into the side of the Honda, just 24 hours before it was to be driven away by its new owner. Never have I been so furious. While the offending driver was never aware of it I ranted and raved, cursed and expressed my misgivings about the legitimacy of her birth.
Serrano’s body shop is about a half mile from our home. I had never done business with them before but they were close and Italian (I’m half Italian) so I brought the car to their shop and asked if they could repair it in less than a day. Amazingly they could and did. I called the new owner and told him what happened. Fortunately he was unshaken and still wanted the car as long as it could be repaired perfectly. It was, it looked better than new! At noon on Christmas Eve he picked up the car happy with his purchase and looking forward to experiencing his daughter’s delight at his generosity and thoughtfulness.
Thanks to Serrano’s body shop in Jacksonville we beat the Grinch who almost stole a 16 year old’s Christmas joy. There is a Grinch and his name is Murphy but he is not omnipotent, he can be beaten, you just need to find some Italians who can help you “fix” things. I have always believed in Italian power, I had just never experienced it before. Think about it, have you ever heard of an Italian Grinch? They don’t exist — anymore.
Please comment here or by email bob@baronson.org. Also, please read and comment on my Organ Donation and Transplantation blogs on http://bobsnewheart.wordpress.com . You can visit my Facebook site, Organ Transplant Patients, Family and Friends at http://tinyurl.com/225cfh OR — my Facebook home page http://www.facebook.com/home.php
