It could be worse

This week hasn't gone so well for us. We had a few accidents. Nothing real serious. Just a totaled Honda Odyssey and towed Camry XLE. One Ruth's, one mine.

But the accident that I had proves one thing at least. It could be worse.

I was going my merry way when blam, out of nowhere, there was a car on my left. I was hit so hard that my car rammed the curb. The front left wheel was bent in and it was impossible to drive. In fact, I couldn't even get out of the car. The driver's door wouldn't open. I sat there dazed. I stared straight ahead, disbelieving what had just happened. I was thinking, first Ruth's car, now mine, and within a week of each other. We aren't having a good week.

I slowly took off my sun glasses and placed them in the holder above the rear view mirror. I turned off my Chinese language CD, turned off the motor, and sat. The guy who hit me was asking if I was alright. He was talking through the driver's window, but I didn't answer right away. I couldn't believe that I've only had the car for a month, and now this.

Finally I got out. Partly dazed, partly depressed. There's been so much happening with our house and car that it was just too much to contemplate. The traffic was backing up, it was rush hour. How did this happen?

He had pulled over into a driveway. He was driving his wife's Mercedes 280. She had just got it back from the garage because she had been in accident. We called the police. They quickly responded -- in 45 minutes. We exchanged information.

The police officer finally came, gathered all the information and returned our licenses and registration. As the officer finished the paperwork the man hung up his phone and putting on a strong face said: "I just found out my mother just died."

The officer said: "I'm sorry, I don't mean to add to your misery but here's a citation. You can appear in court at this date or pay the fine."

Yeah, it could have been worse for me. It certainly was for him.

...dave
I parked my car in a tow-away zone and when I got back the entire area was gone. -- Steven Wright