Thank goodness I procrastinate (Read 953 times)

That's really scary to think about, isn't it? On the not-so-lucky end of it ... my mom's friend was driving to work one ordinary morning when a drunk/ high driver smashed into her car, head on. This was a couple of years ago and she still has a very long road to recovery. She has undergone many surgeries, has been in the hospital for months, and is still in a lot of pain . It's very scary to think what the difference going back to grab your lunch or stopping on your way out to feed the fish can make.

On the not-so-lucky end of it ... my mom's friend was driving to work one ordinary morning when a drunk/ high driver smashed into her car, head on.

When I was a kid, my mother and my brother were at a stop light. A woman that had pulled out from Dunkin Donuts a half mile back and was behind them didn't bother looking at the fact that there was a line of cars stopped at a red light in front of her and went full speed into my mother's trunk. My mother saw it coming in the rear view and warned my brother, who was in the passenger seat. He's a musician, so he immediately relaxed his body and tucked his hands under his armpits to protect them. He was fine. My mother tensed up on the steering wheel and slammed harder on the break to stop a domino effect, and has never been the same since. For 7 years, she couldn't sit down, she had to be standing or laying down. These days, she has every single point of fibromialsia (however it is spelled) and can be pretty miserable at times. She tries not to let it get her down too much though, and just stays inside when the weather is crappy. It's been 15 or 20 years since she was rear-ended.

That's too close for comfort Trishie. Any chance of using different streets or roads that minimize the risk of this?

This happened in Racine, WI (where they live) ... even so, I think this can happen anywhere and anyplace

It's kind a catch-22. And drivers are dumbasses in the Winter regardless of where I run. Today I was more worried about being run down by snowmobiles than cars...welcome to Winter in MI! k

I know what you mean. I spent the first 20 years of my life there. If you could see how southern people drive when those seldom snowfalls hit, it makes the Michiganders not seem quite as idiotic!!

Do they go too fast, or the opposite extreme? I've always pictured the southerners panicking and having a stash of canned goods for snow "emergencies." They close the schools if they get an inch or two, which has always served as a source of amusement for us northerners.

We actually get lots of both - but here we get more ice than snow. During my first winter here in Dallas there was ice on the freeways and an inch or two of snow. In a 5-6 mile stretch of freeway on my way to work - I saw at least 20-25 cars in the ditch or wrecked into guard rails. Around the neighborhoods and surface streets we have the other extreme - with people going 5 mpwh when they could safely be going 20-30. On days like that, I usually work from home because of both types of those drivers. Also of note, it does not even take 1-2" of snow to close the schools. Last winter, my kids' school closed and there was MAYBE a 1/4" to 1/2" of snow. Of course the kids still had fun trying to scrape up enough for snow balls.

Oh, Trishie, that's so awful for your mom's friend. I think of all those people who were doing their holiday shopping at that mall and were in the wrong place at the wrong time...and what must be going through the heads of those who missed being potential victims by minutes. It's the kind of stuff that can keep a person up at night.

Don't know if I already mentioned this in the other forum but my friends mom who works at Von Maur clocked out 4 minutes before the shooting started. Another one of my friends mom was walking out the door as it started. Pretty intense...

Don't know if I already mentioned this in the other forum but my friends mom who works at Von Maur clocked out 4 minutes before the shooting started. Another one of my friends mom was walking out the door as it started. Pretty intense...

Oh, wow...that is some very fortunate timing for those women. I hear the store still has not reopened, which I can definitely understand. What a source of terror for so many people.