The Gravity of the Situation

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Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects.
~ Dave Barry

It was the best of weekends. It was the worst of weekends.

No wait. Wrong literary reference.

This past weekend, we traveled to Asbury University to see our older son perform in a production of Julius Caesar. He’s a film student there but decided to try the stage. We were quite impressed with the entire production. And, of course, his performance.

On Saturday morning, Mom and Dad chose to take the boys out to breakfast at the nearby Shaker Village. It’s one of our favorites and we love to visit there when we can. The boys were ambivalent, but agreed to go to please Mom and Dad.

We enjoyed breakfast and a brief walk through the gift shop. There we viewed some really neat Christmas angels made of driftwood. We thought about buying one of the gray angels, but I realized if that was on our tree that I’d never be able to blink.

To get to the Shaker Village from the University you drive along Kentucky Route 68 past the Kentucky Palisades and across the Kentucky River. It’s a beautiful winding road.

And, dangerous.

On the way back, my son was driving. We’d been discussing seeing a movie. “Thor” or “Gravity.” Ironically we were debating whether we wanted the stress of “Gravity.”

The road was wet and the car began to slide. He managed to correct it was much as he could, but we ended up off the shoulder and into the guardrail.

Most important of all. We weren’t hurt.

From the woman stopped to help and told us to that she became and EMT because of her accident along that road, to the tow truck driver to the deputy and the sheriff we were told accidents happen there all the time. It was no one’s fault. We were, in fact, the second accident on that stretch of road Saturday morning.

While taking us to deal with the car, the sheriff told me that the highway department has told him that the road is wreck2slick either because of the algae that washes off of the rocks or because of the diesel from truck traffic. He believed the latter.

He also told me that the highway department is hesitant to send work crews because environmental wackos will issue a stop work order because of “harm to the ecosystem.” They will only do the work if a deputy is posted with them.

Look, I work for a conservation agency and believe in responsibly taking care of our environment and a wise use of resources. There’s no need to be a meddling moron and a threat to public safety.

But, I digress.

Because we were way out in the country, getting assistance and trying to find someone to work on the car was basically impossible. We watched our car be towed away and a friend took us back to campus. The car made it to the body shop today. We await the prognosis.

We drove back in my truck, once again leaving my son temporarily without a vehicle. His Jeep is being repaired but has had some additional issues. That’s another story.

wreck3The bottom line is, we’re safe. We’re home.

Dealing with insurance after an accident in another state is a pain in the ass.

Pardon my langauge. Some situations don’t really call for decorum. But I didn’t use the words I really wanted to.

I did not need this to deal with, but I have it. And, as much as it annoys the um…snot out of me (see decorum, exhibit one) in the grand scheme of things this is just that. An annoyance.

We’re alive. We’re not injured. The driver of the overturned car we saw on 288 last night was taken to the hospital with injuries. Another driver in Chesterfield this morning lost their life.

We weren’t in the Phillipines last week. We weren’t in Illinois this weekend.

We live in a troubled world. Disasters happen. Accidents happen. Elections happen.

It’s easy to forget that it’s supposed to be this way. We’re not home.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
~ John 14:1-3

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