I have a morbid fascination with events that you can see coming yet cannot prevent. [Events which we don't see coming, which take us completely by surprise are a fascination too, but not in the same way.] Last Sunday afternoon while running my final errands for the weekend I suddenly realized the vehicles ahead of me were stopped and the laws of physics were insufficient for me to prevent a collision. [Yeah, that's exactly what went through my brain, I think.] The feeling couldn’t have lasted more than half a second or so.
On the plus side, everyone walked away with nothing worse than bruises. And I’ve always wondered what it’s like to have an airbag deploy in your face. Check that off my list of things to wonder about. And totaling a vehicle? Check that off my list of things to do before I die. [It wasn't really on my list before, but now I have both added it and crossed it off. That is, if I really had such a list, which I don't, that's what I would have done.]
I limped around for a few days with a bruised knee and I have some real pretty colors on the bruises from the shoulder harness and seat belt. And I, a life-long phone-o-phobe, have spent hours on the telephone this week with the insurance company, rental car company, towing company, auto auction company, and car dealer. As if going from 30mph to 0mph in an instant weren’t enough to shake me up! [And, boy was it ever.]
Now I have a new car [and this blog post, but I don't recommend crashing a vehicle as a way to get either] and I hardly notice the bruises any more. I wish I had a moral to this story to finish out this post, but alas it is just a story.
Let's do Something Cheap and Superficial 
The moral is that you survived the experience, unlike many other people in our world today, and only have the haunting memory of the CRUNCH to follow you about.
Congrats on the new vehicle, and sorry about the resultant bruising. I’ve actually broken ribs from the seatbelt before, and that kind of recovery is just not fun.
And accidents do happen, even to hyper-responsible gentlemen of a certain age. The universe is not out to get you.
Are you sure the universe is not out to get me? Because I think it has been following me…. ~Tim
Wow! I am glad that you are alright. Sooooo…do tell. what is the airbag like? Did it slap you silly?
Actually, I didn’t really feel the airbag — it was just suddenly right THERE in front of me. Kind of like a magic trick. ~Tim
I’m glad you’re OK, but I can see from your blogger icon that it really messed up your nose. Sorry man…
I hope you weren’t thinking about “Not A-Mused” when this happened. Along with the self-fulfilling prophecy thing, it’s a good idea to keep both hands on the wheel and focus at all times. OK?
I’m a very good driver… very good driver. ~Tim
Glad you’re OK Tim! I’ve had that same OMG moment tho I was the one being rear ended when the guy couldn’t stop his car. Be careful!! And what kind of car are you getting now? (or did you get?)
I’ve been hit by other cars before too, but this is the first time I ran into someone. Not a good feeling! I had a Toyota RAV4 and really liked it. I’d still be driving it if, you know, I hadn’t just wrecked it so I got another one. But the new one is bright red. I feel like I’m driving a fire truck. ~Tim