I can hardly believe that April is here! Time really does go by faster the older I am. For instance, 5 years ago I had my first car accident.

It was just awful!

We had had our 1995 Saturn only a little over a year. We were living in Kingsland, GA at the time. Ben was stationed at the Mayport, FL Naval Base which was an hour from our townhouse.

He carpooled with his brother, who was also stationed on the same naval base. The carpool arrangement was simple; there was a Hardee's fast food restaurant about 15 minutes from our house in Kingsland, so I just had to drive to the Hardee's to pick Ben up. His brother would drive him to the Hardee's after work and would pick him up there in the mornings as well.

I was dressed, took a glass of iced tea with me and headed out. I got about 2 or 3 miles down the road. Which, by the way was a back road with only 2 lanes separately by a double yellow line. I'm driving the speed limit of 55mph. I either looked down for a second to adjust the radio or take a sip of my tea (don't really remember because the accident took place so quickly) and before I knew it, an Isuzu Rodeo was in my lane. It came out of nowhere. I tried to slow down, but I was going to fast and he was sitting still, trying to make a left-hand turn. I turned the steering wheel as hard right as I could manage. I still hit him at a 45 degree angle at 55mph.

The next thing I know, the airbag deploys. Which, if you've been fortunate to never have this happen, you don't know how badly they stink when they inflate. Not only do they smell bad, but if your hand is in the wrong position such as mine was then it gets "burned" by the gases that are used to inflate the airbag. Not fun.

I don't remember unlocking my seatbelt nor do I remember getting out of the car. It was dream-like; almost surreal. Within 2 minutes (so it seemed) there were 4 squad cars, 2 fire engines, and 2 ambulances on the scene. (Fortunately, I had had my accident right infront of the only trailer park on the entire road. Someone saw the accident happen and called the police immediately.)

I remember sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth crying hysterically, "Oh My God! Oh My God!" I was so worried that I had just smashed my fairly-new car that I didn't realize that I was alive and mostly uninjured.

Two paramedics were checking me out to be sure I had no injuries. My left pinky nail was ripped off (they were acrylic back then) and I had the burn on the outside of my left thumb. Other than that, I was not hurt. One of the paramedics was mean to me. She kept insisting that I take off my wedding band. I refused. (Other than the 2 times it has slipped off during cleaning, it has never been off my hand since I got married.) She told me rudely, "Well, they'll just cut it off in the Emergency Room."

They put me on a stretcher and wisk me into the back of one of the ambulance to further assess any damage I may have had to my body. They're telling me that they're going to take me to the hospital. I told them that I didn't need to go to the hospital, that I was fine. (I was thinking that we'd have to pay for that out of pocket and I was more concerned with running up a high E.R. bill than my health...I'm so stupid sometimes!) :-)

I explain to the male paramedic that I was on my way to pick my husband up from his carpool and could I call and let my sister-in-law know what happened. I call Teresa. Remember this all takes place in a matter of minutes so I'm still a little hysterical. Through my tears I'm trying to explain to her that I've been in a car accident and I'm in the back of an ambulance. I ask her to call Ernie, her husband and ask him if he could drive Ben all the way to our house. She doesn't believe me. Remember, this occurs on April Fool's Day. She tells me to give the phone to the paramedic. (I think she was checking the authenticity of my story.)

Finally, after all the paperwork was squared away and the towtruck had my Saturn all secured, one of the police officers drove me back to the townhouse. He was so kind. I kept apologizing to him for the accident. He smiled. I didn't receive a citation because he believes that the other vehicle, the Rodeo, was in the woods and came out into traffic. He eluded to the fact that he feels that the guy in the Rodeo was in the wooded area off to the side of the road involved in illegal activity, though he didn't specify what kind.

I was just relieved that I wasn't going to get a ticket. I was, however, scared to death that Ben was going to be furious with me for wrecking our new car. Well, those of you who know him and those of you who have read this diary long enough, know that he was not at all concerned about the car but was just estatic that I was unharmed. He kept hugging me and kissing me and was so relieved that I was alive.

In the end, it turned out that I caused over $8200 worth of damage to the car. Brand new off the lot, our Saturn was only $11,200!!! That was a bummer!

Since then our poor, poor little car has been involved in 3 more accidents. I was rear-ended 2 years later when we lived in Gainesville, FL and then about 9 months later, Ben hit a lady in Atlanta. (very little damage, he was only going 5 miles an hour) And then, about 9 more months to a year later, he was rear-ended again. And ya know what, she keeps on going! And going. And going. My 1995 Saturn has 187,500+ miles on her. No joke. I swear to you.

So, if you're in the market for a durable, gas efficient vehicle, Saturns are the way to go.

And remember... if it weren't for the crumple zones, the airbags and wearing my seatbelt, I may not have been here to type this story to you!!!

Thought Of The Day: "The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave."--James A. LaFond-Lewis

Until next time... peace, love, safety & HEALTH!!!