Scary Anniversary

On May 7, 2008-- exactly one year ago today-- I was in a pretty serious car accident. It was pouring down rain, and I was racing to work. I pulled out at a stop sign and was broadsided by a pick-up truck. The truck's driver did not have his headlights on, so I couldn't see him very well. Anyway, I managed to escape with only minor burns from when my airbags deployed and a very minor back injury. (Yes, folks, I said, "airbags-- plural." I think that was the most traumatic part of the whole ordeal.) My car at the time, a silver 2003 Chevy Cavalier, was a different story. On top of all that, I had to go to court to pay off a "failure to yield" ticket. As for the other driver, he was already in a lot of other legal trouble and was charged with "criminal negligence." If hitting me was what it took to get that maniac behind bars, then so be it. Needless to say, I'm in a much better place today. At the time of the wreck, I was going through an existential crisis. Perhaps in a perverse sort of way, the experience was a life lesson: Sometimes you need to slow down in order to get the most out of life. If you don't heed this advice, it could cause problems down the road-- literally and metaphorically.