Car trauma and some irony

Question: What is the coolest thing ever to do 3 months after you buy a house?



Answer: Total your car.


OK, so it may not be totaled; it may be fixable. And hopefully insurance will cover it. But that's what I did on my way to the food co-op today after work. There was no other car involved. Nope - just me, a small but rather steep hill, and a set of train tracks. The thing that really stings is that I've driven over these train tracks countless times. I know you actually have to slow down to about 20 mph or you will die. Somehow it slipped my mind, and there I was, almost on top of them and slamming on the brakes. The next thing I knew there was a hard metal sound like something breaking, smoke, and air bags. My car locked up and jarringly came to a halt. I was a bit shaken, but I just registered the smoke, grabbed my purse and keys, and ran out of the car. I wasn't sure what to do, so I stood there wondering for a few seconds, long enough to watch red car juices spill forth from underneath my Penelope. It's like she was bleeding. And I couldn't do anything. She looked fine from the outside, but when I saw the car equivalent of internal bleeding, I knew that it was serious. Luckily there was a man from Friendly Tire down the street as well as one driving a Volvo who stopped to help. They looked at it while I was on the phone with a roadside assistance service (since I was still quite rattled and hadn't figured out I should call my insurance company), and in snatches of conversation they revealed to me that not only is the oil pan busted, the transmission is shattered. "Shattered," he said. OUCH. The racket-pinion (whatever the hell that is) may also be toasted, but they weren't sure. The transmission bit is really what stuck with me.

We got it out of the middle of the street - it's really a workout to steer a car that has no power steering. Luckily I've been lifting weights a lot lately. The roadside assistance service found two towing places that both cost $125 and couldn't be there for over an hour. I walked down the street and found out that there was a towing place right around the corner; they got there in 3 minutes, towed my car, and didn't charge me a dime. They see a lot of people in a similar situation: apparently that bit of road claims 1-2 cars per week. I believe I shall talk to the city about it. I am very fortunate that Keith came to get me. He's going to take me to work tomorrow morning, too. He's a gem.

That's the only part of it where I was in real danger of crying. That's the hardest part of any accident like this: looking through the contacts in my phone to survey my options. Who will be unavailable? Who will take their time and flake out, leaving me in turmoil? Who is the best possible option? I think about this and weigh the possibilities very carefully because at that point, I can't handle very many well-meaning "No" answers. Oh, it's tough. Then it begs the question of what I would do if the situation were reversed. Would I be there for someone? Would I sacrifice my plans for the evening to help a friend? Would I respond with disappointment or sarcasm? Because I know I wouldn't take those responses well in that situation. But I'm pretty sure it's not such a touchy issue for everyone.

So that's the news from Lake Woebegone. I'm strangely calm. But then, I'm usually strangely calm. It takes a while for these things to disturb my calm, so I'll probably flip out in a day or two. I should hear from the insurance in 48 hours, though. I hope it's good news.


And irony, too! First: yesterday I finally broke down and decided it was time to have my nasty dirty car cleaned inside and out. It's beautifully clean now: interior thoroughly shampooed, exterior spic & span to the tune of $65. Second: the pest control people came to the house today. When I got home from dance this evening, there was a bug on the bill they left.

I'm going to bed.