A news story on a local station's web site tells of twin males who were found dead in their home, each sitting in a recliner. Seems they've been deceased since 2011 but nobody noticed. No sign of foul play. As odd as that is, the headline is what caught my attention.
"Twins, both 63, found dead in recliners."
Uhm...did I miss something or isn't it a given that they would be the same age.
What's the etiquette for responding to friend requests on Facebook? If someone you sort of knew (OK, they attended your church decades ago), was an odd duck then, and not someone you'd voluntarily hang out with, tracks you down and sends a friend request, does common decency require that you accept? It's not like you're ever going to see them (they live in another state).
If someone says, "Will you be my friend" can you really say no?
And as long as we're talking propriety, I may have a buyer for the VW. He's in CA so we've been communicating via the internet, but in my last message I gave him my phone number so we will probably talk on the phone soon. And I'm wondering if I should try to talk him out of buying it.
In my eBay listing I mentioned that the only thing not working is the wipers. New switch, new armature, so some kind of electrical gremlin someplace. But I live in the desert and wouldn't drive it in the rain anyway, so I've not been motivated to track down the problem.
In his questions about that he mentioned that he's not a VW guy and doesn't think his wife would go for inop wipers. Would I agree to fix them if we agreed on a price? The answer, of course, is yes. It's a pesky task giving the location of the wiper motor but for the right amount of money I'll tackle it.
But my sense is that this guy is not a gear head. He asked other questions that made me wonder if he understands what he's looking at. Owning a 50+ year old car is not like owning a modern car; you need some basic skills to maintain it. Oil should be changed every 3,000 miles, and most hacks at a quick-change haven't the foggiest - or the required gaskets - to handle a classic VW. ("Where's the filter on this thing??") The valves should be adjusted every 5,000 miles. Fail to take care of that task and you will eventually have a catastrophic engine failure. Sure, your local VW dealer will do it, and charge you a ridiculous price. Change points and distributor (no computer ignition), set the timing....
No air bags. No seat belts. A windshield 10" from your face and a gas tank 14" in front of your knees. You're enclosed in a metal shell only slightly thicker than a pop can, and Bubba in his jacked up F250 that requires a ladder to get into has no idea you're next to him and doesn't care.
So, do I have an ethical obligation to make sure this guy and his wife understand what they're buying when they purchase a '62 VW Beetle? Or is it caveat emptor all the way?
We had a 10% chance of rain today. I raised it to 100% by washing the Falcon this morning.
1 comment:
I was just thinking about that FB "friend" issue recently. Sometimes people I don't know (nor have I ever known) friend request me, just because...well, usually because we both happen to be in the GGF. I always think it's weird, but I always accept the request.
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