I Shall Not Call Them White Trash

Case Study One: My wife and I were driving down the highway a few weeks ago. We found ourselves behind a truck that had rear bumper issues. To be specific, the rear bumper was only attached on the passenger side of the vehicle. On the driver's side, there was a tie-down strap that was holding the bumper vaguely in place. The tie-down strap was attached somehow up at the top of the tailgate. That side of the bumper was swaying back n' forth, looking like it could fly off at any moment. We quickly changed lanes. But I shall not call the driver White Trash. Why? Read on!

Case Study Two: A week or so ago, walking in a parking lot, we passed a car with an unfortunate front passenger side door. The door was obviously not secured to the car as the manufacturer intended. In fact, the door was secured to the car with duct tape. I'm not making this up. There was a bundle of duct tape, mostly at the top of the door, which was "securing" it to the car frame. Amazing! But I shall not call them White Trash. Why? Read on!

Case Study Three: Yesterday morning, I got into my car. It was below freezing outside. When I opened the driver's side door, the latch got stuck in the "up" position. This meant that I could close my door, but it wouldn't stay closed.

I ran the heater for 10 minutes, trying to warm up the car enough that the latch would snap back down (which has worked in the past). It didn't work. Groggy from that whole *morning* thing, I couldn't come up with any good options. So I put one hand on the door handle inside, and just started driving.

Once I got up to a respectable speed, revelations started to happen. Things like, "Hey, I bet some WD-40 would fix this." The thought, "I did NOT just do this!" settled down for an extended stay in my head. Every little bump, every little turn, and the only thing holding my door shut was my pipe-cleaner bicep. I became concerned.

Thankfully, the heater did its trick, and the door latched itself shut before I got to work. I bought WD-40 during my lunch break.

Suddenly, my perspective on Case Study One and Two changed a bit. :)