Looking up from the bottom

Hi blog person,

I wish I knew what was wrong with me. I cannot smile or talk. Remember the kid who hit me? My body guy removed the front bumper cover and the heavy metal reinforcement bar is bent in half. I knew he hit me hard. Parts alone are up to 3 gs. That does not matter as much as how I feel. I felt alone before, but the fact that no one cares about me and the fact that I was attacked, is unbearable.

I called the police officer who I talked to originally and he just told it was my fault for not calling the police and reporting it. I tried to explain it was not the car as much as no one cared that I was attacked. No one cared that I was threatened. With great "Man" tact, he said why did I think he was listening to me complain. Oh yea, that felt really good.

It was the shock of seeing what was under the bumper cover and knowing I was hit as hard as it felt like. Creeps me out. It is ok to be alone when everything is going good and you do not need anything. When something happens that shakes your core, you look around and see no one cares. That is when being alone sucks. me

looking for advice

Gentle readers, A good friend, a professor of psychology in TN who also happens to have a Maaco, was asked by me to read my Body Shop Blog. I do not ask many to do so. His question to me was what is with all the French? I like France. I used to speak French and am working on relearning it. I am half French (Mother) and half Scottish (Father) I have big green eyes and auburn hair (till the salon got at it and this month it is blond) That is the Scott in me. I am petite in height and a gentle soul and that is the French in me. So, I want to go to Scotland and live for a while and speak French if I ever need it again. So, that is wy I play with FRENCH.

Matt, my professor friend does a great Elvis immitation. A multi talented man.

Ok, Beloved readers, Question one....The french, drop it or not?


Remember the young man who followed me and hit me? I did talk to the police about letting him threaten me in front of them and not doing anything. They still did nothing. I have been thinking about him. His car was beautiful and on time. He just wanted to fight or "floss" if you are Afro-American. But the anger to hurt me, a woman his mother's age. I am thinking of sending him a letter and letting him know what he did and telling him I forgive him. Quote Mother Teresa and send a small bible. Good idea or bad???

Today is Thanksgiving and I plan to stay home alone all day. I rented some movies and bought a pumpkin pie. Not my choice. I slept in and plan to putter around the house. My ex has a girlfriend and has fun plans for today. I divorced him because he cheated often. He was the love of my life and broke my heart. Why is he having fun and I am home alone???? Where is the justice in that??? I am sure you know what I mean. It is what it is and it is what God wants it to be. I will use the day wisely and remember my blessings. To all God Bless on this Holiday

What part did you not get???

Dear, whatsssssssssss up?!

I wish to share with you a darling couple I dealt with yesterday, Mr. & Mrs. Rut. Mr Rut came in to get the front bumper cover, hood and right fender painted to match the 15 year old car. He replaced those panels himself. Mr. Rut, it was explained to you that you will not have a color match unless you blend the panels. Your car is 15 years old!!!!! It will not match. It says on your estimate that you understood that, that you declined a blend....period. No Matter what it looked like, you did not want it blended.

Your Celica is 15 years old, guess what. Now you come in and scream obscenities at me. You signed that you understood they would not match. Your wife says, "I am from Michigan and hard"...woaaaaa. Now that is scary! Mrs. Rut demanded Maaco's number which I gladly gave her. I told her to ask for Sonya. Now, remember this is a woman talking. She said, "Oh great, another woman who does not know what she is talking about."

People, I will not budge to help a person screaming obscenities at me. If a really nice person screwed up, I would help them. Scream at me and you are screwed.

Customer service asked me to send them copies of his work order. We did. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.

It is Tuesday and Thanksgiving is Thursday. It is slow at MAACO. I guess it will be that way for ever, but sure could use some cars.

I think the moral of the story is even if the Dumb Sh..t does not want to blend, we need to do it for the moron as they have no idea what is good for them. Lynn's Law.

It finally happened

Mon Cheri, Hello Dear Diary, Again with the Drama!!! First, it finally happened.

We repaired a dent and painted the side of a silverado for a young man. He had a serious anger problem. I spent an hour listing to his ranting of obscenities before he even picked up his truck. When he showed up to pick it up, he was a monster of anger. He found a microscopic pin hole and I could not stand to listen to him, so I said we would do it over. That meant I had to buy another decal from the dealer. We did it over and called him. I told him he should be ashamed of himself for the language and the way he talked to me. probably not a good thing to have done.

I had a knot in my stomach all day as I knew it was going to be ugly. He came in around 4:00 and proceeded to start to yell and cuss. Nothing in particular, just to hear his voice. He wanted me to look at the truck with him and I said no, I had looked at it earlier and it was fine. That angered him. I asked him several times to lower his voice and then told him to, "SHUT UP". He went off and I dialed 911. Two officers were here pretty quickly. I also hit the page button and said 911 front, and my entire crew was standing behind me in a few seconds. He shut up then.

He wanted to pay with a check and I did not want to take it. More yelling and screaming from the child. My son, Hugh walked out with him and he started screaming about some micro bubble in the decal. Hugh just looked at him and said man you are nuts. I believe the officers told him to pay for his vehicle and leave. I took his check for $380.00, nothing considering it cost me 800. to do it twice.

He looked at me and pointed and said, I will hurt you in every way I can. The police did nothing and he left.

At 5:30 I left in my GTO and half way home, an older White Civic was in front of me at a light and as soon as the light changed he hit the gas in reverse and smashed the front of my car. He took off like a bat and I chose not to chase him. There was no plate on the car. My seat belt locked, which kept my face off the steering wheel, but I bruised my arm. It all happened so fast, I started to get out of my car and traffic was all around me. I just drove home. The damage to my car is over 2 grand and that is MY cost. Worse than that, where I am mentally. A customer followed me and attacked me. I did not call the police as I was robbed 3 times the week before and I keep feeling they just have given up on crime and do not care. I hate West Chester police as well and that was where I was.

This has effected me in a strange way. I now have a funny kind of fear. That night in bed, I felt more alone than I ever have. I so did not want to be alone. I felt so empty of all feeling. I would have paid for a hug.

What kind of "MAN" attacks a woman his mother's age?!? His vehicle was fine, actually great, he was mad just to be mad.

I then went on a week long MAACO convention. It was good to get away and I learned so very much, felt energized and focused again. Hugh and I had a long talk and I believe we have a great future ahead of us.

While I was gone, there was shop drama. There is still tension and I need to address a man's ego. Again, I do not look forward to this. The ego issues in the body shop remind me of the corporate wing. Most women just do not get it. Just get the car done. Men wear their bruised egos on their sleeves and sure do act out. Hey, we have cars to fix, we have jobs, that is better than most.

Thank you for listening my good friend. We will talk soon. God Bless, Lynn

What is an Anniversary really?

We just finished celebrating our second anniversary in business. We had a big Anniversary Sale. Did I say Celebrate??? I guess one would celebrate survival. We did survive the first two years. We have learned and gotten tougher and lost a lot of weight. Our anniversary sale was half price so we got a few winners. Only had to call the cops once. A young man with the worst, loudest mouth on the planet wanted nothing to do but fight. I asked him to lower his voice several times and then told him to shut up. He went off telling me I was treating him like a dog. (DUH) I called the police and they gave him the impression that if anything happened, they would go get him. I then called 911 to the front and within 2 seconds everyone who worked for me was standing behind me. Guess what. Young man with dirty mouth did not say another word. I do not know what he hoped to gain by being such a creep. No one thought he was a tough guy, just a jerk.

We have had some changes in the shop. My son, Hugh, is painting full time. He is an excellent painter. His wife, Abby, commented to me that when he is in full Hazmat paint suit with his white stocking hat on he looks like a condom. We howled for several minutes and did not tell Hugh why.

Anthony is now the shop manager. He was the assistant manager for almost a year. He is extreemly intellegent and has the best work ethic I have ever seen. The first week with all the changes was a little confusing for everyone, but I am sure they will make a great team.

I leave tomorrow for a week long MAACO convention. It will do me good, but I worry about my shop. Dear Lord, watch over the people and the business for me.

We had three catalitic converters stolen off the lot this week. When will this crime spree end. I have ordered more lighting for the outside of the building. Hope it helps. Got to start packing. God Bless one and all, Lynn Moore