*Squeak* *Squeak* *Scrape* Shit.

My family came down to visit for Labor Day. They got a late start, so they were planning on getting in on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday night. Fine by me, since it gave me a chance to do some errands.

So, Saturday morning, I go over to Home Depot to pick up one thing: some Loctite (thread locker -- it's like Crazy Glue to keep nuts and bolts from coming apart). It's a Saturday morning, so naturally the parking lot is crowded. I'm cruising around, when suddenly I turn a corner and see a spot. I'm at a bad angle and the SUV next to it is a little close, but it shouldn't be a problem. I turn in quickly. Too quickly.

You can see where this is headed.

There's a mild jolt, a not-unfamiliar rubbing/squeaking sound, and then a scraping sensation. I bail out of the attempt and quickly park in a nearby, heretofore unseen (argh) other open parking spot, and survey the damage. There's a 3-inch scrape on the fender by the door joint, 2 smaller nicks on the door and fender, and a big rubbery rub mark on the door.

I looked on the SUV; there were some small scratches on the rubber part of the bumper, and I left some paint on the chrome part of the bumper, but it was otherwise okay. Naturally.

So, I had a few more errands -- to the craft store to pick up some brushes, and then to the auto parts store to get some solvent and primer. Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon scraping off rubber bumper bits (you can see a long crease, but the paint is still intact), then inexpertly applying touchup paint to the scratches, which I am now letting dry for a week before I go to sand down the ugliness of scar-like globs of paint now there.