11/24/06

We were meant to be on our way to North Carolina for a True family reunion of 64 relatives for the Thanksgiving weekend. The Trues are descendants of my great grandfather on my adoptive father's side. So True is a superior surname here, and not an adjective.

However, on the afternoon of November 23rd, we were delayed by an absent-minded traffic collision.

We were traveling in caravan, my parents and aunt and uncle in the minivan in front of us, and Maggie, Estelle and I in a KIA sportage, on highway 31 in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.

As one who considers himself acutely aware of his surroundings, I am taken aback by memories, or more accurately, my lack of detailed memories, surrounding the accident.

Sometime in the time when I was either slowing or stopped in the right lane of southbound traffic on 31, I heard screeching brakes, and suddenly the slightly familiar sound/feeling/knowledge of a traffic collision enveloped my being. My head bounced back and forward, and an engine raced, whether mine or another vehicles, I can't be sure. We were in a bit of a wreck, I knew, and immediate thoughts of insurance, of a disabled car, of the ramifications of a failed reunion with family, of studying interrupted, of inconvenience...

"Fuck," I uttered, loudly, regrettably, and poignantly, as my first observable reaction. Quickly I was trying to get on the phone with 911. I forgot that I had set up my phone for hands-free, so it turned out I had connected with 911, but couldn't figure out why I couldn't hear the connection on my handset.

Second thought was to check on Maggie, who was visibly shaken by the collision. She cried, and I uttered an expletive. These were our immediate reactions. Hers was more refined, what? Estelle, who was closest to the initial point of impact, was OK.

Ironically we were hit by another McDonald, unknown to us, who said she was looking at another vehicle, worried about them entering the flow of traffic abruptly in front of her.

When things calmed a bit, I went to her, and said something along the lines that these things happen, and I'm sorry that we were involved in this sort of thing. These words were despite my anger at the fact that she had a moment of inattention that will cost me time and money over the next few weeks. Time and money are commodities that I will not have to spare in the next few weeks, but despite this, I am retrospectively impressed with my reactions, in that I conveyed no anger. Don't get me wrong. I was  pissed, but I only showed annoyance. I was bothered and could have been belligerent, but I was subdued and empathetic.  This is not to toot my own horn, but to sort of remark on a newfound maturity I evidently I have gained, that permits me to see the other person's point of view, in a situation where there is no time for forethought or calculation - you just react.

While "Fuck" is not a stellar initial response, I did react well with people otherwise, and that's a plus. I think we'll resolve this inconvenient episode without too much headache.

We'll probably have more structural damage to our vehicle than the value of the car, and I hope that we can nevertheless force the other McDonald's insurance company to repair rather than to just cut a check. What could we buy for $5,000 that would suit our needs and not leave us saddled with car payments on a new vehicle?

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

After the accident, I didn't want to take our second car to North Carolina. I just didn't feel like it. I had studying to do on top of that, and a lost day because of the accident, on top of another lost day driving, was not what I wanted.

My dad called on the following day, and despite my wants, I couldn't say no, and I'm glad I didn't.

We drove on Thanksgiving Day to North Carolina in our other car. We were sore from the collision, in our necks and back, mainly, but it could have been much worse, and we had a wonderful time despite ourselves. (I still got about eight hours of studying in on Friday, but I'm still behind.)

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Since we were on our way to a family reunion, we had a camera, and when I find it, I'll post a picture or two of the accident scene.