Fickle Hand of Fate, Part the Sixth

(Have you read Parts the Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second, and/or First?)

Dad and Beverly have now been stranded in Dickinson, ND for almost a week with a radiator-less motor home. Their first several days camped at the RV park on the north side of town, they spent their time phoning mechanics who might be able to repair or replace the radiator, the dealer who sold them the motor home, and the adjustor who must assess the damage and authorize the work in order for it to be covered under warranty.

Most parties are voting for repairing the current radiator because it's cheaper. Dad is voting for replacing it because the current one has gone out twice and is therefore very likely to do it again and again if it is merely "repaired" again and again. The other parties are telling him, however, that it will take six to eight weeks to build and ship a new one ("they don't make spares"--no, of course they don't) and that no work can begin until Dad secures an estimate . . . although no estimate can be given until the mechanic actually begins to work and finds what's wrong, requiring payment for beginning the work . . . which he may not begin until giving Dad an estimate, if Dad would like it to be paid under warranty. Is it any wonder that Dad is frustrated?

In the meantime, we have been seeing Dad and Beverly and Bandy quite frequently, inviting them over for marinated and grilled ribeye steaks with onions and mushrooms, potato packets, broccoli, and mud pie one night; marinated and grilled chicken breasts julliened and tossed with tomatoes, angel hair pasta, olive oil, and seasonings another night; and pizza yet another. We're planning to go out to supper with them tomorrow night. I hope they will have good news to share then about the radiator (that at least some progress will have been made tomorrow).