"The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed." - Nicolas Chamfort

Gen 1 GPS

Today I have prayed for grace, wisdom, discernment, and peace. I was wide awake at 2 a.m. so there was plenty of time for that and more. Praying for others helps me get my mind off my own issues, and boy, do I know people who need prayer.

The day's weight was the promised delivery late this afternoon of the truck. Shortly after breakfast I got a phone call from the trucking company CEO who did his best to deflect responsibility to the other firms and drivers who were involved between pickup and (anticipated) delivery, but I'd have none of that. I did business with the broker - Jeff at Four Corners Transport Services  who located and engaged a firm - and Dan at Felt Auto Transport, the outfit he assigned the job. Anyone else who got involved was/is not my concern. We had a frank conversation in which I told him his firm was responsible for everything. An hour later I got a call from Dan, one of his agents, who was contrite and said they accepted responsibility and would do whatever was necessary to make it right.

I called Jeff at Four Corners and learned, as I expected, that he was responsible for those calls. His language is a bit on the salty side but he told me he made it clear to the Felt CEO he had better do right by me or his future in the business was in serious jeopardy.

Then it was time to head downtown for our meeting with Scott, the pastor at Emmaus Life Church. Scott is bright, articulate, warm & engaging, and clearly an insightful church planter.
(Scott, if there's anything else you'd like me to say let me know and I'll put it in tomorrow's post.)
Note to self: it's pretty hard to keep your professional background a secret when your email signature includes a link to your blog.
Busted!
Truth: we had an easy conversation about Emmaus, got a clear picture of where the church is and where he hopes God will allow them to go, and how Pam and I might fit into that congregation. We'll continue to talk, pray, and explore. We'll go back to Emmaus this Sunday and experience what they call "The Big Table," and seek God's wisdom for what we see as a very important aspect of this new stage of life, the place we make our church home.

Shortly after lunch I got a call from the driver that my truck would be delivered to Junction City Muffler sometime between 1:45 and 2:00. I was there 15 minutes early so I could fill Ken, the owner, in on the background and talk about what kind of exhaust system he'd install. Then, right on time, the guys pulled in with my truck.

I'm still angry, and now also sad.

We got the hood open to discover that someone had so torqued on the latch that it's toast. Someone also took the truck on a joy ride, and at sometime in there also walked all over the hood and front fenders. Why??? The hood hinges are sprung, one side of the bed has been bent, and the ignition switch has been twisted. And the battery is dead.
The driver told me he was contacted by a totally different broker and picked up the truck from the curb in front of a dentist's office in Las Vegas. Nobody met them there; they found the key hidden underneath.

My truck looks pretty sad right now.

Ken will put on the dual exhaust over the next couple of days, complete with 2" pipes, a 2-in-2-out muffler, and stainless steel tips in back. Then I'll take it up the road to two body shops he's recommended for estimates on repairs. Tomorrow I'll order a new hood latch so I can at least drive it that far and get ready to clean up the mess under the hood from the joy ride somebody took.

Note: I had very specific break-in directions from the machine shop that did the motor work and I'm guessing those guidelines weren't followed.

Jeff, at Four Corners, has been wonderful. He has pushed Felt, and pushed hard. At his request I've sent him an email with a full description and pictures of everything that I took at delivery. He'll also get the estimates on the body work. His very, very strong feelings about how far south this whole thing went (like I said, salty language) and inside expertise have me cautiously optimistic that it will end well. So, if you ever need to ship a vehicle get in touch with Jeff at Four Corners. Don't worry about him assigning it to Felt; that'll NEVER happen again. And in the four or five times I've used him previously I've had a great experience.

OK, there's more but I'm exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. Wasted.
My goal is to stay awake until 7:30, and even at that modest target I'm going to need some of that great CR coffee.