PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

They ran out of those because there were so many people in attendance, but we had a police escort and as per Pennsylvania law, we had right of way and were allowed to go through red lights!

 

@6 gearT444E
@ABA180
@BkerChuck
@ColoradoTJ
@Just_A_Guy
@Speedytech7
@TnShooter

So, I found out the whole story; Alex apparently lost control of his car (2013 Nissan Altima) and went off the road. The Altima hit a large rock and then ended up in a creek. Alex broke his neck on impact and was killed instantly.

The crash is believed to have occurred on the evening of Monday, January 29. Police investigating a separate accident on the morning of Wednesday, January 31st found the car with his body inside.

I have no idea if he was wearing a seatbelt, but apparently all the airbags deployed except for the one in the steering wheel, and this probably didn't help matters. The only good thing is that Alex died instantly and did not suffer.

 

The deceased was the son of mine and Amanda's former teacher, and the luncheon was at her sister's house, where I saw both the '04 Tacoma and this tractor!

 

Not surprised they pulled shady stuff..

Terrible but as you said at least it was quick..and I do think I recall the bus accident now that you jogged my mind.

 

It really got to me seeing a 21-year old kid getting put in the ground...

 

@shakerhood
@TnShooter

I had last seen the deceased when he was maybe 10 years old, and I hadn't seen his mom (my old teacher) in many years either; I made it through the viewing and the funeral mass, though @Stitchgirl90 started crying in the truck right before the funeral procession left the church. Her younger brother was hit by a car while riding his bike home from work, he died of complications from his injuries two months later, and he was the same age as our teacher's son. This got to Amanda.

I am not a huge fan of open casket funerals, but I will still go to them. Funerals as a whole do not bother me that much, even if it is a family member or close friend. Towards the end of the summer in 2021, my neighbor was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and died in October 2021, at just 41 years of age. Every other funeral I have attended has been for somebody over the age 70 from natural causes. We were at the cemetery, and I just started crying out of nowhere while the priest was speaking; I was starting down at the casket and I just started tearing up. I didn't make it obvious that I was crying, though Amanda later told me she could see it in my face.

The only time I ever openly cried at a funeral was back in 2007, when my paternal grandpa died from cancer at the age of 71; I made it through two viewings in the afternoon and evening, the actual funeral service the following morning, and even acting as a pallbearer when one of the original pallbearers had something come up and couldn't be there. I finally lost it after my grandpa had been interred and we were walking out to the car, when the band started playing taps. But again, my grandpa was 71 and he died of cancer in his sleep, in his home...

My teacher's kid was only 21, and he died in a car accident while driving to see his girlfriend. He had family and friends who loved him dearly, a good job, and a damn good life. He wasn't into drugs or criminal activities. He was just going to see his girlfriend. The only good thing to come out of this, is that it appears he died instantly and didn't suffer.

I was staring down at the casket when I teared up, and my thoughts at that very moment were that this was not some old man who was at least 65 years old with kids and grandkids who'd gone peacefully in his sleep. This was a 21-year old kid, who just wanted to see his girlfriend and was not driving drunk or high, and a tragic accident took his life in a split-second. He should have at 50+ years left on this earth, and that is what really fucking got to me.

 

This was just the line of vehicles behind my truck yesterday!

 

The townhouse that I helped clear out last November (built in the late 1970s), is coming along nicely!

 

I saw this 1951 Willys in the parking lot at church...


February 11th, 2023:

Chalfont, Pennsylvania

 

My friend and fellow Aspie, Ben Hartranft, won a brand new Chevy Equinox on The Price is Right in 2022! @Stitchgirl90 and I ran into him at church today...

 

I used to buy raffle tickets for a car from the fire department and they would pull the winner during the Fair. One year when they drew the winner, the lady standing beside me won and she said she could not believe it because she won the previous year too!

 

@6 gearT444E
@ABA180
@ColoradoTJ
@HomerTaco
@Just_A_Guy
@steelcity2
@TnShooter

Panhandling is starting to get a bit ridiculous in my area, and what happened today in the Home Depot parking lot almost crossed a line...

I went to the Home Depot in Warrington, like a mile from my house, to get a hacksaw so I could tear apart the air-conditioner quicker; @Stitchgirl90 was with me and planned to wait in the truck while I got the saw.

I parked the truck and got out, leaving Amanda in it with the keys in the ignition and one window down, but the doors still locked. No sooner had I gotten out of the truck, than this guy in a leather jacket corners me, tells me that something happened, and asks me if I can spare a couple of bucks; he was a white guy, probably in his early 40s and shorter than me, and he made me very uneasy.

I flat out told him that I had no money (I actually did), and he accepted this. I had the condenser from the recently disemboweled air-conditioner, and a 47-gallon GE electric water heater in my bed. This guy took notice and immediately started touching my valuable scrap. He asked if I scrapped stuff and I said yes, all the while watching with a bit of anger as he touched my scrap.

I routinely leave stuff in the truck, but usually it's just steel, and not a 48,000 BTU condenser coil that's actually worth money; I was about ten seconds away from telling this guy to stop touching my stuff and back the fuck away from my truck, and twenty seconds away from threatening him with an ass-kicking. I say again that my girlfriend was in the truck and I was feeling more protective than usual.

He said something like "good for you" with regards to scrapping, fist-bumped me, and walked away in the direction of Avalon Flooring in the next shopping center over.

Once I was 99% sure he was out of earshot, I rolled up the driver's window, locked my door, and told Amanda to confirm that her door was locked.

I then approached an older woman in a Subaru a couple spaces over and asked if "the dude in the leather jacket" had asked her for money. She said that he hadn't, but that she thought he was creepy. I notified some Home Depot employees about the guy and went about my day...

I drive a poverty-spec 2010 Toyota Tacoma with almost 191K miles that has so many dents in it I've lost count; I didn't even have the custom wheel covers on because it's winter, and when I do have them on there is absolutely nothing about my truck that says "I have money". I put money in the donation bin at church, and I donate to numerous charities, so there's no way in hell I'm giving my money to some random creepy dude who approaches me in a parking lot.

I don't know what the hell is happening, but there shouldn't be panhandlers in this area. Every once in a while, you'd see supposedly homeless people standing at the entry/exit to shopping center parking lots holding cardboard signs with some sob story scrawled on them in black Sharpie, but even this was rare; I've seen two such people doing this cardboard sign routine in the last few days. These people are easy enough to ignore by simply rolling up your windows.

It used to be that I'd park way out in the parking lot to avoid dents, but I'm willing to deal with dents if it means weirdos won't approach me asking for handouts.

 

It’s everywhere, Charlie.

I went to a very upscale mall yesterday. Talking Neiman Marcus, Gucci, etc. Got approached by some woman and her kids yielding a sigh that asked for help. They were well dressed, had nice bags, did not at all look destitute.

Welcome to America.

 

It was wasn't so much that this prick asked me for money. It's that leaned over the bed of my truck and started touching my stuff. He did look destitute, but I'm still not giving him my money.

 

I had a “vagrant” look my stuff I left right outside my garage. My complex is gating the entire property to keep non residents out.

But this is SoCal. Not sure how they survive in the PA winter by you.

 

So I posted about my encounter in the Warrington community Facebook page, and apparently he's a well-known homeless drug addict named Bill who does this all the time.

I'm almost 35 years old, I've lived in this area since 2005, and Ive never seen as many homeless/panhandlers in this area as I've seen since October. I led a rather reclusive life until about 2009 and got my driver's license in 2011; I encountered plenty of beggars between May 2011 and the summer of 2023, but it was very spread out. People hanging out at the entry/exit to shopping centers was a once or twice a year occurrence, and people loitering outside the entrance to various stores was once in a blue moon.

I will not include the black lady in @Gwyns04 and @Stitchgirl90's neighborhood because she actually lives there and it would seem that her case manager or whoever had a talk with her about approaching people to ask for money or rides.

Last month, some guy was hanging out in front of the Wawa on Main Street in Doylestown Borough, ironically right under the "No Loitering" sign. He didn't actually ask me for money, but when a perfect stranger greets you with a "How are you, sir?" as soon as you get out of your vehicle, it's pretty damn obvious what they want. I told the manager of Wawa and he was told to leave the property immediately.

When I go into Philly, I expect this; I always get asked for money by some random homeless dude when I go into the city for the car show.

This shouldn't be happening frequently in the suburbs! I have autism, and I have this thing about being hassled by complete strangers when I'm just trying to live my life.

 

I hit 191K on my way to the scrapyard!

 

They know who he is, I asked the SM Tim and they've asked him numerous times not to solicit in their parking lot. Best to just ignore Charlie.