Joe and the white Hyundai

Best wishes from Diane and Rick Kruger on your 70th birthday.  Rick is about a year and a half behind Joe and Diane is a few years behind Rick (even though we share the same birthday).  Rick worked with Joe at MSI Insurance for more years than he can remember, so he scoured his fading memory for a story about Joe.  This is the best he could come up with:

Shortly after Joe and I began working together, he was in the market for a new car.  Being rather frugal, he settled on a Hyundai.  At the time, the Hyundai was first being introduced to the US market and they were not quite the vehicle they are today.  After a couple of years, Joe’s poor white Hyundai began rusting out (a common problem of many cars of the era).  The best thing that ever happened to that poor white Hyundai was that it was rear-ended at a stop light.   Total Loss.  Joe took the insurance money and moved on to another vehicle.  He has done better with cars since then. 

Now that is not the end of the story.  The person that rear-ended Joe was an attorney in a prominent plaintiff’s personal injury law firm in downtown Minneapolis.   Joe and the other attorneys at MSI Insurance had handled numerous cases involving this (unnamed, but negligent) attorney and his/her law firm.  We did have a few good laughs over coffee (and other drinks), thinking about suing this attorney and his law firm for Joe’s whiplash.  Fortunately for Joe (and the unnamed, negligent attorney), the whiplash never materialized, the litigation never materialized, and all parties remained on good terms.

Stay safe and have a happy 70th.

 Diane and Rick Kruger