The other
day, I looked death in the eye, and cheated it… by some fast thinking. What
happened was this. I was rounding a curve on a narrow stretch of road between
my house and the lake. I was headed to the water’s edge for some much needed
solace. It had started to drizzle. So the road was slick. I was traveling in
accordance with the speed limit, so I wasn’t overly concerned. Then… out of the
blue, I saw something that shook me to my core, and damn near gave me a heart
attack. Coming straight towards me, hogging the entire road, with no room to
spare, was a house. You heard me, a house. A ranch house… sitting on top of a flatbed
truck, overhanging on all sides, obviously too big for this mode of transport. I
saw no customary warning vehicle in front of it, to give me a heads up... this
monstrosity was there. All my eyes could focus on, was just this big house… headed
right at me, going faster than the speed of light. It looked like it might tip
over on top of me, if it did not hit me first. Suddenly, I saw my life flash before my eyes. A line from an
old Mary Chapin Carpenter song came to mind. “Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
One minute you’re the windshield. One minute you’re the bug.” I looked for someplace to go. There was only one
option, the grassy berm. So… with seconds to spare, I jerked my car in that
direction, hard right, skidding to a complete stop. Then, I held my breath and
mumbled a prayer. I was certain the end was here. The car vibrated and I clung
to the seat. The house missed me by a hair. It was that close. I sat there for
a moment taking in what had just happened. It was surreal. That driver’s load
and reckless behavior had almost gotten me killed. Shaken, but still alive… I
pulled away and continued on to the lake. I needed to decompress. I had just been
spared and I was going to make the most of it… starting right then and there. The road is dangerous. Do not take it for granted. Defensive driving saves
lives. PRACTICE it, religiously. PS) Further down that road… where it became a
double hwy… was another house, similar to the one I had had a close encounter
with. It was sitting there waiting to make that perilous journey around that same
narrow curve. I prayed nobody got in it's way. I pulled over and snapped a photo… because seeing is believing.
