Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A Long Day 

It started out with a trip to the bus depot to send Robin off to England (via Vancouver for a 24-hour visit). Then I drove to the north end of town to go to work, but I didn't quite make it. About four blocks from my destination, I had to slam on my brakes to avoid T-boning a woman who turned left right (ain't English grand?) in front of me. I avoided hitting her, but then there was a great thump as I was rear-ended by a brand-new (1 1/2 wk old) Subaru. The Subaru's air bags deployed, and its driver got a bruise on his forehead. I've spent the rest of the day talking to the claims adjuster, getting intimate with a bag of frozen peas, downing Tylenol, sleeping, then going to see the chiropractor and the m.d. to see if I can keep this soreness/headache from turning into a major whiplash event.

When I came out of the doctor's office, I turned on my cell phone and found that I had a message from the young man who hit me. He was calling to check up on me, make sure I was okay. I'll call him back tomorrow and do the same - at the scene, he seemed more concerned about his car than about his head, but that might change over the next day or so. Several witnesses came forward, and we all agreed that it was the woman who made the scary left turn who caused the emergency situation. They said she looked in her rear view mirror and kept going, leaving the young man and me crashing in her wake.

I must be feeling better, in general, because this whole episode has left me feeling strangely calm -- not to mention grateful for that telephone call. I want to find the young man's parents and congratulate them on bringing their son up so well. Unfortunately, he is legally responsible for the accident, because he did rear-end my car (which may be a total loss, according to the firemen who attended.) One of them said that because his air bags had deployed, his car would be a total loss too, but I'm not sure about that. Maybe it's the Tai Chi that has enabled me to relax about it all. Whatever it is, I'm glad of it.

Meanwhile, I am sitting here with my neck enveloped in a tube of frozen gel. I've booked Robin's seat for his flight. Having finished that, I took the muscle relaxer the doctor prescribed, and I'm waiting for that to take effect.

One more thing. Every time a car drives by, I think "Robin's home," but he isn't. This is going to take some adjustment.

And yet one more thing. Before he left, Robin nagged a bit about how he would really like to be able to read my blog while he waits for me to arrive in England (that's five weeks from now). I'm afraid I snarled at him, because I wasn't ready to write, but now I am. Maybe it's the shock of the impact, but suddenly I feel quite chatty. Go figure.

7 comments:

RLM Cooper said...

Whoa! Woman! Glad you are ok - and blogging again!

Unknown said...

What AngelMay said! So sorry to hear about the accident tho--odd--I had a close shave with the car yesterday.... But yes, very glad to see "The Turtle" with a new post; you've been missed!

Barry said...

I'm sorry about your accident but relieved it was no worse.

My oldest daughter had a similar situation where the woman who bumped into her spent all her time yelling at my daughter and blaming her sudden stopping for the damage to her new car.

However, he next day the woman had calmed down and was very concerned about my daughter. Fortunately, no one was injured seriously.

Hopefully you will be too. Good to have you back blogging.

Julie said...

Sorry about your accident, but glad you're okay. And glad to hear manners aren't a thing of the past. I say, channel all you're feeling and write something that avenges all the annoyances you have/and will suffer involving this accident.

First50 said...

I'm glad you are all right, and am enjoying the chattiness.

Sandra Leigh said...

Hi, Angel May, John, Barry. Never fear. I am tougher than I look (and tougher than I think, sometimes).

Julie, I've been doing just that. I applied bum to seat today and wrote about a character who came into my head unbidden. I quite enjoyed watching Cecilia come to life, wondering whether she will be a whole story someday. She'll have to stand in line, I'm afraid, as I have several half-stories going, but it was great to feel inspired.

Karen said...

Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear about your accident, Sandra. I know it's little comfort, but the really good news is that cars can be replaced; people can't.