a holston, Ken meant 'compartmentalization', and this is the ability of woody plants to wall off injury through chemical and physical means. It is an interesting subject, but not something that can be briefly covered. At least, not something I'm up to laying out right at the moment! Suffice to say though that the tree either will or will not be able to close this wound-both externally and internally-and that all you can do to aid this process is the usual stuff that helps trees. The biggest thing, practically the only thing, is to ensure the tree is not suffering from drought. And if you do elect to water it, realize that this means watering the entire area. Conversely, if you're fortunate enough to not be in a drought-stricken area, then even this is unwarranted. But keep it in mind for a year or two hence, if it gets dry then. Trees have been getting dinged up-though not by cars-for millennia, and they've developed means to deal with it. No fancy snake oil is going to help. It could be warranted to fertilize the entire root zone, but that's controversial as heck. If you do decide, hopefully after doing some research, go easy with the stuff. A little might do some good but a lot won't do more good. +oM

A couple things to think about... First, the minimum auto insurance coverage in PA for property damage is something like $10K. I would be surprised if this guy has more than that. So his insurance is only going to pay that $10K to your insurance...your insurance is on the hook for over that. And if they end up stiffed, your premiums might go up. Yes it's unfair. But I'd ask up front about that, before you get too far down the road. Second, I'd be surprised if they pay to put the porch back exactly like it was. Unless you have a super spankin' top of the line insurance policy (generally offered for historic homes where the millwork is custom and hard to replace), they're going to fight tooth and nail to just build it to "standard workmanship" - meaning a concrete block foundation, standard off-the-shelf columns and balusters, etc. You can try to get what you want, but I wouldn't be surprised if you get big pushback. We used to live on Swede Rd in a 200 year old former-mill that was about 6 ft off the road. While we lived there, a car hit the stone wall in front of the house and demolished part of it - his auto insurance paid to fix and we had a friend of ours who was a mason do the work. But after we sold it, a landscaping truck skidded out and took out aqbout 100 ft of wall and the corner of the porch. They fought with the insurance for about 3 years before they got the wall rebuilt - the insurance company pushed back hard against paying for the stone wall to be rebuilt using the original stones. And I think they ended up using new columns and new porch floor that wasn't an exact replica of the original. You can go in demanding what you want from the insurance company, but realistically, I doubt you'll get it, and the process of fighting them could take years. And yes, I know that sucks because it totally wasn't your fault that any of this happened (but having been on the victim end in more than a few auto accidents, I've learned that insurance companies pretty much don't care.) Since you're planning to sell the house anyway, maybe this is the time where you pick your battles (definitely hold out for the paint job, but maybe give up on the custom millwork and just do everything new with standard components). Good luck!

Glad that it wasn't a bang on the driver's door, girl! Not long after I got this car, I thought that I went into an intersection on a green ... and a car that came through three lanes hit on the driver's side ... but back at the back tire area. I was ... substantially ... very substantially ... thankful! It seemed to be the general concensus that I'd run a red light ... but I figure that he ran a yellow, as when my car had been turned around about 180 degrees - there, staring at me through the windsheld, was a green light, in the same direction that I'd been travelling ... and if I'd run a red light, it should have been red! Anyway - I also like to pick spaces in parking lots where I can drive out (but must confess to being a bit too lazy/(mis-guided?) to back into empty spaces). I hear that a bit of a longer walk is good for one's constitution? By the way ... did you say that the grandkid is wanting a car? Hhm-mm-mm-m! Hope that the rest of your weekend goes better. I, too, value my wheels ... and one needs be extra careful around here, for if one in 70s or higher is in a fender-bender or two, one is liable to get a letter from the Ministry of Transportation to say that they are cancelling one's driving permit. We have a discussion session of about an hour and a half with about a dozen others, with a test of knowledge and signs, with some being selected for a driving test, every two years after age 80. ole joyful P.S. As I was fairly sure that there were still quite a few good miles in that little 20-year-old Mazda that I'd bought only a few months earlier, after the accident I chose to repair it, at a cost larger than I'd paid for it ... partly for environmental reasons, as it costs a great deal of scarce and precious fuel to dig iron ore from the ground, smelt it, then carry it through all of the manufacturing operations ... plus add quite a lot of petroleum-based plastic, to build a new one, but repair is mainly a lot of work. In addition to the amount that's added to global warming ... and pollution. o j

Ha!, no teen in that gals house, I was sure I was doing things right, then, I just told her this would be the last I would do, cuz I had eliminated everything else, and she told me she was home and on the regular computer, I could have reached thru the screen and strangled her. she also commented she only knew gmail, and I told her I used FF, chrome, and IE as browsers, and then she "discovered" Ff on the machine! I felt I got suckered into a dilemma, and hope I never run across something like that again. As you said, I do not believe she knows how to operate her device, only the simplest things maybe?, and also that she doesn't know the capabilities of it either. I am not a geek, but I have done a few attachments, etc., in my life. I hope with all of this, she now can work her devices as a regular person. Thank you so much for listening to my vent, and first off, thank you for your words, I appreciate that you took the time to read, and decipher what I was trying to accomplish. so nice to have folks that are genuine, and I do not think this one was, only somewhat selfish it seems to me. Have a great day, and know that you calmed my jitters, cuz I was afraid I was doing the wrong thing, and it never occurred to me it probably most likely was someone who didn't know how to work with the device. I know I am just happy with a trac phone, call and receive, old habits die hard!