Toast for brekkie

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T-bone Burnett

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 by george.
Categories: travel, life, friends, photography, health, epiphany, enlightenment, coincidence.

On the way to the movies tonight, Willie and I stopped to pick up Tony at the nursery where he works. As we pulled out of the driveway, we stopped, then had to make a three-point turn to go back and close the gate. The movie was starting in ten minutes, so Willie sped off but quickly got behind slower traffic. This was good, considering the cop sitting by the side of the road. “Which way do you think we should go?” he asked. “Take 95,” I replied, “It’ll be about five minutes faster than all the red lights on Fiske.” He made a right turn, and we carried on with our conversation about how happiness is a choice; that you must be content with your life exactly as it is, that true joy can never be derived from material things. Lacey twittered about being frustrated, stuck in hellish traffic in Houston in the wake of Hurricane Ike. I remember saying a Remover of Difficulties for her as Willie went on about how he wouldn’t be upset if his house burned down. We were on SR-520 approaching the I-95 overpass to turn south on the highway, when, to quote They Might Be Giants, “then came a knock on the door which was odd and the picture abruptly changed.”

Suddenly everything was moving in slow motion as I realized we’d been broadsided by a big yellow truck. I hadn’t seen it coming; luckily Willie was paying attention and had swerved to the right at the last moment. This kept us from plowing head-on into the oncoming Ford F-250. Instead, he t-boned us. I remember a sharp jolt, then watching the world slide past the windshield as we swung through 270 degrees. “Is everyone alright?” I asked when we came to a stop. Grunts in the affirmative. “Willie, do you want me to call 911?” “Yeah,” he replied as he jumped out to check on the other driver, whose airbag had deployed. I tried to take stock of myself as I dialed the number. Within 30 seconds the nice lady had all the information she needed, and a minute later the sheriff arrived, followed by the paramedics, a truck full of firemen, and a state trooper. As it turns out, the other driver was within 50 feet of his destination; he was a construction worker working on the surface of the on-ramp. We were swarmed with men in hardhats, his colleagues snapping photos and asking us if we were ok and what happened. It added to the official nature of the scene, to be sure.

We weren’t visibly injured, so we called Rene to come pick us up while Willie got GEICO to tow his mangled truck. Rene dropped Tony off, then drove us to my place, where we picked up my car and drove ourselves to the ER. We were taken to the back before we even finished filling out our forms (how quick is that?). The nurses and doctors were very kind, even joked around with us. Willie and I got the same diagnosis and prescriptions, along with the directive to take a couple days off work to rest and recover.

It dawned on me as I took a hot shower just now that I said the Tablet of Ahmad on the way into work this morning. I find myself pondering now just how dangerous cars can be. Interestingly enough, my friend Christy had the exact same accident in the exact same intersection last year, except she plowed into the person who pulled in front of her and totalled her friend’s brand new car (she was designated driver). You’d think by now they’d install a green left-turn arrow.

As I drove home from work today, I saw a motorcycle pop a wheelie and get up to a buck and change on my street. I remember thinking about how cool that was. Nothing like a little wake up call to make you appreciate the unforgiving brutality of momentum, and savor each new moment you’re granted that much more.