move that bus

In the summer of 1986 I was in a bad car accident.  A college freshman at the time, I remember leaving my job at Gracy's Gifts just a mile from my house.  I got in my car and waved through the front window to the cute guy who worked at the Jack Brown Cleaners next to the gift shop.  I debated whether to put my seat belt on or not.  Why I debated this I don't know.  I put it on.  It's the last thing I remember before the accident.  

After I was hit, I remember being in the car and feeling really groggy, as if underwater.  I remember someone telling me to unlock the door.  I remember being pulled out the window.  I remember the ambulance and really wanting to see my ex-boyfriend.  I had a nurse with me in the ambulance telling me I would be alright. I found out later there was a nurse assisting me at the scene, who stopped her car to get me out.  I think she gave me her name and phone number on a piece of paper.  I remember we sent her flowers, and she sent back a painting of the flowers.  I don't remember her name, but I'm very grateful for her.

I remember my dad picking me up from the hospital, and I cried because I didn't want to get back into a car.

These are some pictures of the car.  They are a little grainy, back before digital photography.  But you see how if I hadn't been wearing a seatbelt, I wouldn't have survived.

They never caught the guy who hit me.  He was in a stolen car and ran a stoplight and collided into my car. He took off on foot into a nearby wooded area.

Lately I have felt a little like I've been thrown under a bus.  Just some uncool situations where you'd least expect it.  But then I look back at these pictures, and I realize the bus is not so big.

"That's right - he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you-
under them you're perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm."
from Psalm 91, the Message