Focus on the Positives

Well, today's photo really should have been of my bumper as it lay on the ground, almost separated from my car, but I didn't have time to get that shot.  Sigh.

Here's the whole story.  One of my museums was being decorated for the holidays by a local garden club.  So when I pulled into the museum parking lot, there were cars everywhere.  Those old ladies must have each taken their own car, every single one of them.  I find a spot that I think I can squeeze into, but there's a downed tree branch to the left of it.  You can all see where this is going, right?

I should have thrown the car in park, hopped out, moved the tree branch, and parked the car properly.  Of course I should have.  But I was running late and was impatient and I didn't.  Instead, I pulled in, hooked the bigger-than-I-thought tree branch under my bumper, realized it, and as I backed up, the branch caught the underside and ripped the bumper off.  Double sigh.

Luckily, one of the volunteers at the museum knew a good body shop nearby, I was able to pop the bumper on enough to drive down there, and the shop ended up doing the work for free since it was under an hour and didn't require much new hardware (only a few bumper clips).  If you're ever in Ipswich and need body work, Bob's Auto Body is excellent!

Anyways, the above photo shows some of the lovely seasonal decorations that the garden club put up in the house, beneath a portrait of one of the gentlemen who lived in the house in the 19th century.  It helps that I have this kind of stuff to look at after a bad morning!