You hear the one about a man goes into a body shop? Asks when he can get service. He’s told, “Oh, about January 19.” Ahahahahahaha.
No. Wait. That’s not even a joke. That really happened to Old John. He doesn’t think it’s one bit funny, either, even if I kind of do. He did smile when he was first told the date, a month and a half away, thinking he was being pranked. Then he looked like he was going to cry. Now, we come to find, lots of people are getting that word.
Here’s what happened to us. We got the car out of a body repair shop only a month ago. Then, last Sunday, we’re on Anthony Road waiting at the stop sign before pulling onto Rt. 213. And this woman driving up 213 in a blue Nissan decides to make a right onto Anthony — and we’re just like deer in headlights, frozen, watching this apparition coming at us — and Bam! She smashes in the same side of the car that got mangled in September. Nobody hurt, so it might’a been worse, but if looks could kill Old John would be outfitted today in the orange jumpsuit.
So we take our woes to Todd’s Body Shop. That’s where the nice lady says they’re so backed up they won’t be able to tackle our repairs before January 19. And the big problem is . . . deer. The critters are just all over the roads, she says, and people are running into them left and right, even hitting multiples: “One guy just came in, he hit two out of seven.” Todd Smith says he’s been in business for 24 years and he’s never had such a backlog of repairs to do, sometimes a wait of eight weeks. He can’t keep count of how many deer collisions he’s worked on this fall but guesses it could amount to 75 percent of business from mid-October through the rut. One customer tells him of counting nine deer carcasses on the road between home and work. “And Rt. 20,” Todd observes, “looks like a deer battlefield.”
Now, some will be appalled at all that carnage, especially the drivers, but I say it’s not without some benefit. Anyone with my background knows it can let you be so fashion-forward. You find yourself one of those whacked deer somewhere and you get nice a dab or two of it on your shoulders, a little the nape of your neck, or a naughty application along the spine like I often do, then you go into a roomful of people and you can ask anybody there, wow, that Eau de Bambi, it really makes a statement.
Nick says
You could always try ELB on Flatland at (410) 778-6133. Don’t know if they’ll be more or less backlogged, but they were extremely fast with getting my car in over the summer for some light bodywork, reasonably priced and very professional.
Jo says
The biggest problem is the locals have rented their property to people from out of town for a large sum of money and over half are trophy hunters. Some of the locals, who have lived here all their life, would just like a place to hunt to put food on the table. The state is overrun with deer for this reason.
Janice Dickson says
Twice in the past year, we used Chuck’s Body & Fender Inc. (located in Queen Anne’s Co. where Patrick’s used to be). People are very nice, sympathetic, and prices are reasonable. Work is of excellent quality.