The Crash

Last night I was on my way to meet some friends. Traffic on the ever frustrating I-4 was bad but not too bad. I looked down for a moment, can't remember why, and when I returned my attention to the road ahead of me there was no longer a road but the butt end of a Toyota Camry. It was way to close and despite all my quick thinking and rapid response, I slammed into the back of them so hard that my airbags deployed. This was very scary. I didn't even know what happened. Smoke filled the car and I thought I was on fire. I got out to see if the people in the other car were okay. They were but refused to respond to me. The shock of it caused my stomach to turn into knots and I felt like...uh...there is no nice word for it so I'll just plainly say, I felt like vomitting, hurling, ralphing, spewing chunks, etc. Thankfully, I did not. I was dazed. A handsome business man pulled up behind to see if he could help. He could not, so he moved on.

We tried to pull over, the other car and I, but traffic was really bad. Because most people are in their own world and concerned about their own selfish concerns, nobody would let us over. Pulling onto the side of the road was almost as scary as the crash. The first responder on the scene was the fire department. Now, you have to understand that I was already feeling like an idiot. I was shocked at how shook up I was over something so common and felt really dumb for rear-ending somebody. But to make matters worse, out of the fire truck come 3 of the most beautiful men I've ever seen. I thought, Oh great! They were tall, dark, and mostly handsome. One of the trio of 6'4" men asked me for my name. He wrote it down and then with a wink and a smile asked how I'd gotten such a beautiful name. I was thinking, are you flirting with me? Seriously? But in truth, I was also flattered. I had not the will or desire to return his kindness and let out a weak smile. They quickly left and I was alone with the snippy officer and the mute driver of the car I hit. I call him mute because he refused to speak. Much later, he approached and said that the damage didn't look too bad.

I called the insurance company and they said they were sending the tow truck to get me. I spent the rest of the night being harrassed by the officer who couldn't, "stay here all night". And was informed that I, "have to get this car out of here". I was thinking, what do you want me to do? Heft it with my brute strength? Then a smaller voice said to respect the authority set over me and I sucked it up and dealt kindly with the police man. I'm sure he is embittered, not with me, but with the nature of his job in general.

Anyway, I got home many hours later, after my poor car had been towed away. I assessed that I would have to pay $164.00 ticket, $500.00 deductible, rent a car, and possibly have my insurance go up. This left me so upset that I wasn't sure what to do. So I bought a black and white cookie. It did not help. I was trying to lighten the mood for my mother who was concerned so, I joked around about the trio of hot firemen. Then she asked where the accident happened. After a phone call to my Aunt Debbie, who is a fire dispatcher, she says, "Oh those were Debbie's guys. Tomorrow, she's going to see who it was that was dispatched and see if there is anybody we need to introduce you to." So amusing. Wouldn't that be hilarious if I actually got a date out of this?

What I find to be good about this situation was, the first thing I did was pray. I said, "God, help me". Then, at some point, I told God that I trusted him to make something good out of these lemons. This morning I saw that my tax return money was sitting in the bank, ready for me to pay all the costs that I incurred. Isn't that amazing?

Poem of the Month "Jabberwocky"

JABBERWOCKY

Lewis Carroll(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought --So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy!O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy.
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

My opinion:

I love this poem. To me, it is complete fantasy. The description creates, in my mind, a Burtonesque landscape. I imagine a dark, overgrown, woody forest without much foliage. The sky is overcast. Cold drops of melted ice drip from the branches. The young man has tried to capture this beast again and again. He has it down to a science now. He knows that pursuing the Jabberwock is futile. For, as soon as the Jubjub bird sees him, he will alert the Jabberwock and the the surprise attack will fail yet again. So he changes his strategy and waits beneath the Tumtum tree. The Jabberwock comes trampling through the woods, "whiffling" as he goes. It is a battle cry, meant to intimidate his prey. Instead, it works against the Jabberwock, and prepares the young man for the beast's attack. He is able to surprise the Jabberwock and slay him with ease. The young man honored his father by heeding his warnings; it saved his life. Such an intriguing piece.