I hope my luck holds out.

Last week while retrieving my truck, a parking attendant maimed my truck's cap rack by driving it into a low hanging overhead garage door. The weird thing is it happened coming out but not going in. Something to do with physics and geometry, I think.

Anyway, the rack is a Thule 342. It cost me $400.00, has been on two of my trucks. It's a beast. It's about 7 years old and, is discontinued.

I spend the next hour disassembling it in order to exit the garage. Once done and out, I park on the street in order to contact the management company to discuss replacement. They are helpful and promise to reimburse me.

Not angry, but upset, as the rack is integral to my trip, (see my Go West Old Man blog post) I sat there and called, tweeted, emailed and facebooked Thule for any assistance they could offer me finding replacement parts. ...all to no avail.

So, I'm sitting on the side of the street, frustrated about the whole scenario. I look up to see this Tibetan monk, burgundy robe and all, standing in front of my truck, smiling at me.

He walks up to my open window, hands me a small emblem with the words "Work Smoothly" printed on it, puts a bead bracelet on my wrist, puts his hand on my shoulder and smiles at me again.

He speaks no English.

Now, I know he's looking for a donation. But, this guy's kindness is so sincere, so palpable, I immediately loose all my anxiety of the moment. I give him what I have (about $6). He says (I think), "thank you", and starts walking away.

The relief from the immediate situation is just gone. I cannot fucking believe it. So, I blip my horn, he turns, and I give him a "thumbs up" and a big grin. He flashes me a peace sign, another smile, and goes on his way.

That day, I end up spending about $400 for what I think is a second rate rack to replace ol' 342. I have to get it rush shipped so to install it within the next week.

Next morning, frustrated with the perceived crappy build quality of the replacement rack, I start calling every Thule retailer in the USA I can find to see if any may have a 342 gathering dust in some warehouse. On my 20th or so call, I get Keenan at Bob Wards in Bozeman, Montana.

I tell him what I'm looking for and Keenan says, " Let me check out our other stores, I'll call you back ".

Now, I'd heard this earlier from other folks. Disilusioned, I don't expect much, let alone a return call. But, about five minutes later, Keenan calls me back, says he's found a new 342 and is having it sent to Bozeman for me to pick up.

I'm incredulous. I cannot believe my luck. Letting Keenan know I do not live in Montana, but in Chicago, he says, "Give me your shipping address and I'll call you back." 

He calls back 5 minutes later telling me the rack is being held at the Butte store and they'll call to make payment arrangements.

"Bye the way," I ask, "How much is it?"

"$99.00", he says.

I picked it up today. It's mint in box! I'm gonna stop in Bozeman and buy this guy a beer, or 5.

I hope my luck holds out.