The Glass is?
Upon first glance, it may not appear as such in the picture, but this is actually a glass half full story.
Take one wet mountain road, darkness and a slick curve and you have the recipe for potential disaster.
I’m not happy about my 22-year-old Baby Blazer, which was in near mint condition before I left home Tuesday evening.
I’m thankful this is the worst of it. I wasn’t going fast when I hit the other truck and he was also not injured. (Our friends tell Dale and I we drive like old people and one friend even refuses to let me drive because I go “too slow”).
It wasn’t until we got home Tuesday night that Dale said, “Well, it could have been worse. That truck may not have been there at all.”
I know I gave him a dirty look because up until that time, I had been wishing the truck I slid into had been 10 seconds earlier or 10 seconds later. Mostly to save the owner of that truck the hassle of being in an accident and to save us both from dealing with insurance companies.
I have only been involved in one other accident in 33 years of driving and the experience with the other guy’s insurance was so unpleasant, I still get a bad feeling when hearing that insurance company’s advertisements now 20 years later.
“You really haven’t stopped to think about what would have happened had you not ran into the truck, have you?”
I really hadn’t, but he was right. What was on the other side of that truck was nothing. No guardrails or barriers that would have stopped me from going on over the edge of the mountain.
Of course, Dale snored away all night Tuesday while I laid awake contemplating the “what ifs.”
Someone told me I had used up one of my nine lives this week.
Thinking back on the couple of severe storms we’ve rode out while camping or boating and a couple of other near misses, I’m sure I must be on at least life five or six by now.
When you walk away from one of those near misses, it’s always a glass half full kind of day.
What near misses have you had in your life?
What a great "turning point" sort of moment; I love that Dale was able to think of that and point it out. So often I focus on wishing something hadn't happened at all, rather than realizing what might have occurred that could have been worse. Great insight I know I'll remember!
I think I must be rubbing off on Dale. I'm usually the one who points these things out!
WOW Thankgoodness that your OK. sorry about your Blazer. Dry weather and then a nice rain seem to always equal extra slick roads. I've come so close to wrecking going down our mountain here into town it isn't funny. I know put the Jeep all the way into low rain or sun and creep down. makes everyone behind me mad but at least none of us are going to lose it on the way down. On average there is at least 1 accident a week going down either side of our mountain.
This is a spot where there's been quite a few accidents as well, Amy. One of the "down" sides of living in the mountains.
Hi Kerry,
Glad that you escaped relatively unscathed and with a great philosophy about the whole incident.
When I broke my neck in a car accident at 19, I considered myself very lucky too. There were 6 of us in the car, I was in the back seat in the middle and I was the only one hurt. The car was totaled.
Yet I consider myself lucky because with the injury I'd sustained it could have been instant death or paralysis. It took me a year to recover and I have limited neck mobility (literally a stiff neck!) but I'm here typing this aren't I?
I am thus very pleased at your huge run of good luck! SOO glad that no one was hurt. NO ONE.
Sleep well.
Thanks, Vida. I'm glad for you as well. Terrible to suffer such an injury, but I'm glad you're here to write about it!
Oh, I'm so glad you're ok! Accidents are so scary and horrible.
Thanks! They are scary.
Something like this happened to my husband's son. On a bridge. So glad you are alright!
Thanks, Alexandra.
This incident reminds me of something that happened to my sister a few years ago (know I told you this, but thought I'd repeat it for your readers because it seems relevant.) She was in a car accident and though she had no serious injuries, she was banged up enough to land herself in the hospital for a few days and her car was completely totaled.
When I went to see her, I asked if there was anything I could do for her while she was laid up. She said, "yes, could you please tell people to stop telling me how lucky I am." People were trying to be comforting and of course everyone was relieved that she suffered only minor injuries so in their eyes, she was indeed "lucky." But, my sister was in lying in the hospital in pain with no car and no money to buy another one. She wasn't feeling particularly "lucky." Of course, later on she realized just how fortunate she was to not have been seriously injured or even killed in the accident, but congratulating someone on having survived a car wreck can be tricky!
Glad that you saw the wreck as a "glass half full" kind of experience, Kerri. With all due respect to my sister– you are so lucky and so are those who love you!
I know, it is a tricky situation. It took me a little while to think this way, especially about my poor Baby Blazer. I'm just lucky everyone is Ok and she can be repaired.
Kerri, how scary. Gosh, I am glad you and Dale are okay. The sad part is your Blazer for I know how much you love it.
Thanks, Mary. Dale was not with me. I was actually on my way to your fair city to cover the city council meeting! I see they went on without me!
Reminds me of the near miss our youngest had as a teenager:inexperienced driver going too fast at night (wasn't even supposed to be out at that time), misses curve and heads straight for steep embankment. Car gets wedged between 2 posts that just happened to be there (crosses self).
Anger at stupid kid for being out driving in the first place quickly dissipates in the face of "what if …"
BTW — only one of several "what ifs" for that particular kid … think he must be on life 5 or 6 as well.
Glad you're okay Kerri! It's scary.
Thank you, Olivia. I think a lot of us did some pretty silly things as youngsters. It's a wonder as many of us make it out of our teen years as does.
Kerri, thank God for that other truck! Glad you are mostly okay as well…sleepless nights not withstanding.
Life is truly a set of near misses at times. Those times when I forget an important item, and circle back to get it before going on to school, only to find an accident happened where I turned around when I get back to that point-could that have been me?
I always looked on those incidents as Angel Times.…some angel whispered in my ear and got me to hesitate, talk to some one, or go back for a reason. Grandma was the one who instilled in me the belief that our Angels will keep us from harm. Perhaps an Angel in human disguise was driving that other truck that night.
Your grandma sounds like a very wise woman, BJ! I like that concept. That would make a great book, "Angel Times: A Life of Near Misses."