First off, sorry to hear you guys had to go through two highly stressful experiences. Maybe three for you as a resident of the Evil Empire --- being in the same hotel with a bunch of Royals. Could have caught something. Anyway, if you think the sundry bills you got after your facial repair at Medstar Georgetown were outrageous, wait until Rachel begins to receive notices from your rental company. I know from experience, with just a couple of scratches. The one I particularly remember was an attempted exorbitant charge for "loss of use" --- similar, I guess, to a claim of loss of consortium. Since four Kia models alone are among the top ten most stolen cars in MO (with KC ranking an ignominious tenth nationally in car heists overall), I suspect the car rental outfits make more from Kia insurance claims than renting them. As it happens, I knew Karen Ball's impressive work from both the AP and the NY Daily News. For some strange reason also knew (before having it confirmed in her obit) that the AP decided not to make her White House correspondent as lead Clinton beat reporter when Clinton was elected (as is usually the custom) because the powers-that-were supposedly took it upon themselves to protect a young Ms. Ball from the notoriously libidinous Clinton. She did go on to become WH correspondent for the Daily News --- and managed (shockingly) to take care of herself, by herself, without divine intervention. A big talent, as I knew and a big heart, as I just read. Sadly, we can ill-afford to lose either these days.
My Nebraska-based brother and sister-in-law would challenge your white-bread characterization of Kansas City. That's where they go regularly for culture and good food. KC is famous for its jazz legacy and signature barbecue, for starters. Having said that, I'm shocked at the level of crime you experienced in your brief stay, as they've never mentioned that aspect. Then again they don't drive a Kia.
So, when my future wife and I were engaged, I was living in Southern Missouri and she was in school in Chicago. We decided to meet up for a couple days in St. Louis. We were driving her car and stopped to spend a couple hours at a large park. When we returned, we found that someone had smashed in the rear side window. As with your post, there was nothing of value, but we called 911 to report it. Shortly thereafter a mounted police officer rode up on his horse to give us assistance. First time (and only time) we were assisted by the cavalry!
I just finished reading a 2015 YA novel by Dave Barry (The Worst Class Trip Ever) and was amused to note that there is a character in it called Gene Weingarten whose physical description generally matches yours. He is a tour guide for a portion of the kids' D.C. Capitol visit but otherwise has no influence on the plot. Have you been featured as a character in any other books?
Unexpected, but not too much of an inconvenience. I entered a liquor store in a strip shopping center in my local village to purchase some spirits in order to raise my own. As I open the door,
a young man quickly exited. It seems he had just emptied the till. They would not sell me any liquor. I was never sure why not. I stayed around mostly out of curiosity, never having experienced crime so immediately. I also told the officer who arrived that I couldn't help with any details. I proceeded to another store and recounted my experience many times the rest of the day and probably for the next.
I once worked in the area of the Navy Yard in S.E. Washington, D.C., where my car, a 65 Chevy, was stolen in broad daylight (No, Gene, I don't mean that there was a buxom, come-hither babe in the area). I reported it stolen to the D.C. cops, who were not overly surprised that a car was swiped right off our parking lot. They found it two days later, nearby, with two of the tires ripped off, and a few items taken from inside, including a pair of dirty socks and an empty bottle of Coca Cola, without the Coca Cola, of course. The assessed damage was a few hundred bucks (no, nothing to do with deer, try to pay attention). So, shortly thereafter, I traded it in, after repairs, for a used VW, which was basically a crime of a different stripe, details forthcoming in the sequel to this crummy story. The end. (No, Gene, nothing to do with someone's posterior). Really!
I'm shocked that the car company rented you a Kia!! As it seems you found out later, Kias and Hyundais are notorious targets for theft right now because of the security vulnerability with the keypad in recent models, and the TikTok challenge encouraging teens to try to break into them with USBs:
The whole thing is a total fiasco. Recently a class action lawsuit was settled because so many people were having MULTIPLE Kia and Hyundai break-ins, and the car manufacturer response has been abysmal:
Maybe you will now be entitled to some of this settlement. My boyfriend's car, a Hyundai, was been broken into TWICE and the second time it was totaled, so he got a non-Hyundai replacement. The whole thing was a massive headache. He even got the security update after the first break-in, but the thieves broke in again because they're targeting all Kias and Hyundais.
Hyundai, in all their brilliance, offered to put a sticker on the cars after they've received the software update preventing the USB hacking; this sticker was about one inch and written in dark red print and basically unreadable. The probability that a group of drunk teens at night will check for such a sticker is....not high. Pathetic response from the manufacturer.
The real crime is that Kansas City continues to have a baseball team, even though it is rarely any good and rarely attracts more attendees than your friend's funeral.
Were you in KC, Kansas, or KC, Missouri? My Dad was from the latter, and we often visited my grandparents, Aunts and Uncles there. As far as I know, they never experienced any crime. Maybe things changed after the 50's.
First off, sorry to hear you guys had to go through two highly stressful experiences. Maybe three for you as a resident of the Evil Empire --- being in the same hotel with a bunch of Royals. Could have caught something. Anyway, if you think the sundry bills you got after your facial repair at Medstar Georgetown were outrageous, wait until Rachel begins to receive notices from your rental company. I know from experience, with just a couple of scratches. The one I particularly remember was an attempted exorbitant charge for "loss of use" --- similar, I guess, to a claim of loss of consortium. Since four Kia models alone are among the top ten most stolen cars in MO (with KC ranking an ignominious tenth nationally in car heists overall), I suspect the car rental outfits make more from Kia insurance claims than renting them. As it happens, I knew Karen Ball's impressive work from both the AP and the NY Daily News. For some strange reason also knew (before having it confirmed in her obit) that the AP decided not to make her White House correspondent as lead Clinton beat reporter when Clinton was elected (as is usually the custom) because the powers-that-were supposedly took it upon themselves to protect a young Ms. Ball from the notoriously libidinous Clinton. She did go on to become WH correspondent for the Daily News --- and managed (shockingly) to take care of herself, by herself, without divine intervention. A big talent, as I knew and a big heart, as I just read. Sadly, we can ill-afford to lose either these days.
Thank you for this. She deserves it, and you did her proud.
My Nebraska-based brother and sister-in-law would challenge your white-bread characterization of Kansas City. That's where they go regularly for culture and good food. KC is famous for its jazz legacy and signature barbecue, for starters. Having said that, I'm shocked at the level of crime you experienced in your brief stay, as they've never mentioned that aspect. Then again they don't drive a Kia.
As Edward R. Murrow once wrote in the Omaha World-Herald: “If you want to see sin, forget about Paris and go to Kansas City.”
So, when my future wife and I were engaged, I was living in Southern Missouri and she was in school in Chicago. We decided to meet up for a couple days in St. Louis. We were driving her car and stopped to spend a couple hours at a large park. When we returned, we found that someone had smashed in the rear side window. As with your post, there was nothing of value, but we called 911 to report it. Shortly thereafter a mounted police officer rode up on his horse to give us assistance. First time (and only time) we were assisted by the cavalry!
I just finished reading a 2015 YA novel by Dave Barry (The Worst Class Trip Ever) and was amused to note that there is a character in it called Gene Weingarten whose physical description generally matches yours. He is a tour guide for a portion of the kids' D.C. Capitol visit but otherwise has no influence on the plot. Have you been featured as a character in any other books?
Only by Dave. I have been a character in a few comic strips, notably the excellent "Frazz."
Unexpected, but not too much of an inconvenience. I entered a liquor store in a strip shopping center in my local village to purchase some spirits in order to raise my own. As I open the door,
a young man quickly exited. It seems he had just emptied the till. They would not sell me any liquor. I was never sure why not. I stayed around mostly out of curiosity, never having experienced crime so immediately. I also told the officer who arrived that I couldn't help with any details. I proceeded to another store and recounted my experience many times the rest of the day and probably for the next.
I once worked in the area of the Navy Yard in S.E. Washington, D.C., where my car, a 65 Chevy, was stolen in broad daylight (No, Gene, I don't mean that there was a buxom, come-hither babe in the area). I reported it stolen to the D.C. cops, who were not overly surprised that a car was swiped right off our parking lot. They found it two days later, nearby, with two of the tires ripped off, and a few items taken from inside, including a pair of dirty socks and an empty bottle of Coca Cola, without the Coca Cola, of course. The assessed damage was a few hundred bucks (no, nothing to do with deer, try to pay attention). So, shortly thereafter, I traded it in, after repairs, for a used VW, which was basically a crime of a different stripe, details forthcoming in the sequel to this crummy story. The end. (No, Gene, nothing to do with someone's posterior). Really!
I'm shocked that the car company rented you a Kia!! As it seems you found out later, Kias and Hyundais are notorious targets for theft right now because of the security vulnerability with the keypad in recent models, and the TikTok challenge encouraging teens to try to break into them with USBs:
https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/6/1/23742757/kia-hyundai-challenge-tiktok-instagram-youtube
The whole thing is a total fiasco. Recently a class action lawsuit was settled because so many people were having MULTIPLE Kia and Hyundai break-ins, and the car manufacturer response has been abysmal:
https://www.hbsslaw.com/hyundai-kia-usb-car-theft-defect/faq
Maybe you will now be entitled to some of this settlement. My boyfriend's car, a Hyundai, was been broken into TWICE and the second time it was totaled, so he got a non-Hyundai replacement. The whole thing was a massive headache. He even got the security update after the first break-in, but the thieves broke in again because they're targeting all Kias and Hyundais.
Hyundai, in all their brilliance, offered to put a sticker on the cars after they've received the software update preventing the USB hacking; this sticker was about one inch and written in dark red print and basically unreadable. The probability that a group of drunk teens at night will check for such a sticker is....not high. Pathetic response from the manufacturer.
no option for my choice. read it and it was ok.
The real crime is that Kansas City continues to have a baseball team, even though it is rarely any good and rarely attracts more attendees than your friend's funeral.
Were you in KC, Kansas, or KC, Missouri? My Dad was from the latter, and we often visited my grandparents, Aunts and Uncles there. As far as I know, they never experienced any crime. Maybe things changed after the 50's.
Dude, white-bread crime is definitely bolder than I’d have imagined. Daylight and double-up visits. FFS!