Road Tripper

So after my almost hitting an old lady, I am a bit more careful when I take my ol’ beamer anywhere. I never told anyone about the escapade, maybe because I don’t want to recall the frightening moment again and again. Of course, I didn’t tell MOTHER about it, unless I want to hear her rant on and on about my driving skills. Really, like she’s an icon in driving. Yes, she never gets into accidents, or at least none that I’ve heard of or that she’s told anyone. But that’s because she drives like a granny. Honestly. While she never hits anything, her car is always close to being hit by the drivers at her back ‘coz of that snail pace.

See, my mom enjoys driving. I don’t mean to say most drivers do not, but to her, it’s actually a relaxation thing. A stress-reliever. She drives to clear her mind, to leave all the work problems behind, and just simply to settle. You’ll never see her in a hurry, unless she’s really running late, which is seldom the case.

And it’s all good, if it works for her. I only hope (as I oh-so-subtly hint to her always) that she increases the speed and steps on the accelerator a bit more often, so the unlucky drivers who happen to be at her back don’t fume as much.

So I was driving to my cousin’s yesterday when I almost hit this old woman crossing the road. Man, my heart stopped for like three seconds there, with the thought that I killed a human being. So I almost fell off my beamer with the super break I took just to avoid the old lady, closed my eyes for a while and opened it slowly, fully expecting an old woman’s crushed body lying in the middle of the road. When I saw her on the other side of the road looking at me and giving me a thumbs up sign, I took a deep breath and wiped the cold sweat on my forehead. Whew, that was close!

I waited for a few moments ’til I was sure I could walk straight and my knees would not wobble, and then went to her. I wanted to be sure she wasn’t hurt in any way, physically or in shock. All smiles, she exclaimed, “Hey, nothing broken! Didn’t even hit my dress!” How the old lady could be such in a jovial mood despite her near death was such a mystery to me. My, I was more in shock than her! After a few minutes of chat, I asked her where she was going and offered to take her there. But turns out her destination was actually the next house on the road so we said our goodbyes and I went back to my beamer.

This is the first time I almost hit a human being. Granted, it wasn’t my fault, as it was the old woman who suddenly crossed the street at a wrong time. But if I had hit her and if she had died or was badly hurt, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself. Indeed this is a reminder to myself and everyone to be extra careful when driving and focus as you never know when an old man or woman or a child would suddenly cross the street.

And yeah, don’t drink and drive. ;P

For this post, I’ve decided to not talk about my car. I’d just like to reflect on the things that happened to me last year, with this new year and all. Lemme see… hmmm… nope, not happening! I don’t think I can write anything without mentioning my old and bestest pal, my beamer. I’m still thinking of giving him a name, something cool and rad, something catchy. So catchy that when you hear it, you’ll know that it’s my beamer they’re talking about.

Anyway, it’s a new year once again. Last year was really a blast. My beamer and I went to all sorts of places like driving to
Newfoundland to my grandparents’ crib. How I miss them. I miss my granny’s cookies. Those little Christmas tree-shaped cookies when it’s Christmas, little footballs when it’s the football season, little bats when it’s Halloween and well, you get my drift. And I miss my gramps. We went ice fishing last Christmas. I could hang out with him all year round coz he’s so cool. Almost as cool as my beamer.

Oh well..  Still can’t think of a name for my beamer. If you got something in mind, do tell. Gotta run.