I had an interesting morning. On my way to work, I decided for a rare treat- a chicken biscuit from McDonald's- something I haven't had in months. I knew it was going to be a busy day at work, and some food sounded good. It was this stop that sealed my fate, naturally.
I pull up to a stoplight on Montclair, and take a bite out of my chicken biscuit. I hear a crash, followed by another crash behind me. As I'm thinking "oh man that sucks for somebody" I glance in the rear view and for maybe a second, maybe less, I see a Honda Pilot careening towards me. I start to twist the wheel- but there's no time. I am jolted forward- and I remember clearly that fraction of time where I am not touching my seat but not yet yanked back by the belt. Fortunately I was wearing the seat belt. I'd rather not think about what would have happened if I hadn't. In the end, it was a six car pile-up. I was in the middle. Here's how it went down.
Redneck truck pulls up to the light. Behind him is UAB student Sentra. Behind that is Ditchell Honda. 30 feet behind that, Old Lady Honda Pilot, behind her Yuppie BMW. And behind them all, Old Guy Minivan.
Old Guy Minivan is probably going 50 mph when he hits BMW. BMW's hood is flattened into Old Lady Pilot. Old Lady Pilot somehow slides 25-30 feet into me, and then we scoop up the two front cars.
I'm still not sure why Pilot when so far. Perhaps Old Man Minivan was really haulin'. I don't know.
I get out of the car, and it is fucked. Accordianesque (see what I did there?) on the front and back. Old Lady Pilot is mainly concerned with her radiator (What is that hissing sound?) I bite back my reply (thats your truck eating my car, lady) silently. Naturally, other than some cosmetic scratches, the Pilot looks OK. In a bit of karmic justice she still had to get towed because it made a god aweful sound when she tried to drive it away.
We wait it out for the po po, and I get to witness some good ol' down home Alabama rubbernecking at its finest. Wow. You guys never see a 6 car pile up in Mountain Brook before?
The calvary shows up in the form of my father. We eulogize what a great car it was as he drives me back to my house. I go lay down for like 30 minutes. I'm not hurting- just feel like I got punched by Jesus or something. Kinda a sore neck but even tonight I don't think it's anything major. Work is... I don't know. I've just kind of been in a daze all day.
I am moderately excited about getting a new vehicle. Since I have existed on family hand me downs, this will be the first time I've done some car shopping.
But in the meantime, I get to drive my mom's old van. A relic of childhood/concert going that's really not bad at all. Except for gas consumption.
So despite losing what was easily my favorite, most reliable car ever, it's ok. It was time for a change. I'm ok (I think) and I wanted to say that I appreciate the frantic "WTF are you ok?!?!?!" emails today. It was a weird fucking day, and I'm glad it's over.
6 comments:
Sorry about the wreck. And, because of this, and your pictures, I think I'll be travelling with my digicam from now on. It makes sense. Take care of the neck...
Glad you're okay!
Get another Honda!!!
Craziness!!! It's weird how surprisingly easy it is to feel calm in those situations. When a tree fell on my car only a few months after I purchased my first ever non-hand-me-down-or-cheap-ass-piece-of-crap, I just thought, "wow. a tree fell on my car. bummer." You're briefly and randomly connected with an event and all of the people involved, then life moves on rather quickly... Anyway, cheers to a new car!
For your soreness, I recommend the miracle drug, ibuprofen (like my wonderful mother and her mother before her).. oh, and lots o' fluids (pretty sure beer counts). ;)
and to think - if someone had just made a video game (ala Guitar Hero) of how to avoid car crashes, you would have been totally prepared for this situation...Well, at 32, it is probably time for you to actually buy your own car anyway. Glad you are okay.
I highly recommend the crv. Gets great gas mileage.
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