My mother was fond of admonishing me about my various character defects, and one of her more common admonitions was, “You need to be more resourceful!” Well, as a homesteader on a limited budget, I’m finally developing this trait. Here’s an example.
The other day I was rushing to an appointment and found that someone had parked a truck at the edge of the road right by the entrance to my private road, blocking my view. Now, if I had been really resourceful I guess I would have found the driver of the truck and asked him to move it. But I was in a hurry, so I decided to wing it, thinking I had already checked the traffic before I headed up the hill. I guess I took too long double-checking in the other direction, because I crept out just in time to see a red pickup emerge from behind the parked vehicle, heading directly for my front end!
Fortunately, all it did was rip off my front bumper, leaving it lying in the roadway. The pickup wasn’t even damaged. So, after we moved the bumper to the side of the road, I took off for my appointment in town. On returning, I contemplated what to do with the bumper. At first I thought of taking it to a repair shop and having it re-attached, though it was a bit torn up. But I wondered if they’d even want to mess with it in the condition it was in. I had no idea what a new one would cost, but thought it was probably more than I had at the moment. Then I got to thinking…could I just wire it back on for the time being?
I started scrutinizing the font end of the car and discovered several slots where a wire could be put through. I went back to the house and returned with a coil of wire, my best wire snips, and a pair of pliers. Once I had one end secured in place the rest wasn’t so hard. The biggest challenge was the three pieces of the grill that had fallen out. But after about an hour’s work I ended up with what you see in the picture. Not bad, huh?
I suppose eventually I’ll need to get a new bumper, but this should hold it for quite a while, I think. Just one small problem: I just realized my front license plate is missing!
