Today something new to me happened. I got a glimpse of life without me. Not to be morbid, but today could have been my funeral. The fact that it wouldn't have been cancer that took me Home kinda of surprises me. I didn't expect to die in a car accident. As most of you know, I & an elderly man collided on Monday. He came barreling through the intersection making a left turn at top speed. There I was, traveling up University Street at 40 mph. I was lost deep in my thoughts. As I entered the intersection to cross it, there he was... an elderly man turning left right. in. front. of. me! My foot went for the break but only tapped it. Before I knew it, I heard a loud bang. I felt this deep force impact my heart. My car was whirling around, & then bam! It stopped. Smoke was coming from somewhere. I could smell burning. I must get out of this car. Little did I know, it was just the gunpowder from my deployed airbags. My car never did catch fire. It never exploded.
A man came from nowhere & asked me if I needed anything. As far as I knew, I was okay. Yes, I seemed okay. But wait a minute, what about the man that hit me? His head was bleeding (a lot). I grabbed my cane & made my way through the thick bumpy grass to him. "Are you okay?" Why yes, his head was spurting blood in 2 places, but he thought he was okay too. His head left an imprint in his windshield. I was worried about him, so worried about this sweet man. I was in shock, but I was still able to call my husband, talk to the paramedics, worry about this man, & refuse an ambulance. It was all so strange. It seemed horrible, yet I seemed okay?
My husband arrived. He had a 20 minute drive or more. By the time he got to me, I was teary. I was in shock. The policeman questioned me, & he upset me. It wasn't my fault. Why was he condescending? I had just been through Hell. Why would he say that to me? I couldn't make sense of this, & it really bothered me. I'm tender hearted, & I don't understand when people aren't nice. I know... I need to get my head out of the sand. It's not good to expect people to be nice to you just because you have a tender heart. Get real!
3 days have passed. My hand is broken. I have a chemical burn the size of a lemon on my arm. It has part of the bow tie Chevy emblem emblazoned in the skin. What the Heck! How did that even happen? I was a hot mess! My chest... it hurts to laugh. It hurts to take a deep breath, to cough, to move certain ways. My underarm on that side is sore too. Of course, it's from the seatbelt. The seatbelt snapped in place & kept me in place. The 2 things that hurt me were the 2 things that protected me, the airbags & the seatbelt. The Chevy emblem came from the steering wheel. When the airbag popped out, it burned my arm, & the emblem on the steering wheel branded it. Wow!
As we inspected my totaled car this morning & collected a few remaining items, I did some detective work. There, in the junkyard, I pieced a few things together, like the Chevy emblem on my arm. It made sense now. The seatbelt which held me in place is no longer engaged. The front end of the car took the beating for me. The Appraiser said the car did her job. She saved me. I stood there in the junkyard with my collection of odds & ends, a few toys, a pair of shoes, a scraper, a package of baby wipes... I realized that today could have been my funeral.
