Creamed Torino
It was November 15, 1972 when I was in my first and only auto collision. I was leaving my girlfriend’s house at dusk, right at the time when you could still legally drive without headlights, but prudent drivers turned them on as soon as the sun hit the horizon. She lived on a busy road. I looked both ways and I pulled out without seeing the un-illuminated car coming at me at 45 MPH.
The sound of the crash was surprisingly loud. I also remember the wall of broken glass hitting me like a bucket of tiny ice cubes. Broken glass was all over my hair and clothing. My baby blue, four month old Grand Torino Sport had been creamed. It wasn’t totaled. It needed a new driver side door and a rear quarter panel. Though it was fixed seeming as good as new I found glass to vacuum each time I cleaned the car after that.
Since then I’ve been a cautious driver. It was then that I realized the concept of mortality, a lesson that doesn’t normally come to most males until later in life. So, Auntie, I am immune to your taunts regarding my driving.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
14 Comments:
Dang, I thought "Creamed Torino" was some sort of creamy Italian tomato soup or something.
And, I wil always taunt you.
I’ve never been in an accident but family members have. The look of shock and pain on my sister’s face will always stay with me. Hence, my adherence to speed limits and the rules of the road – and defensive driving.
So maybe Auntie should be Tauntie?
Now wondering if Guy has turned into the driver of the the thumping rap listening slow moving vehicle with a mile of cars backed up behind him??? Speaking of...I was speeding the other day and had a cop pull me over. It took a while before I saw him back there or heard him with all the loud rap music playing. He says...I'm at the end of my shift and if I can give him a good excuse for speeding, he'll give me a break. I tell him my wife left me a few years back and ran away with a cop. I told him that I thought he was bringing her back. He said...have a nice day...and left.
Moose
There's nothing like breaking glass and grinding metal to bring the sum of your life to the forefront. There's another word that came up again in conversation yesterday that is quite evocative: Crepitus. It's the medical term for the broken ends of bone grinding together. It's a sound and sensation you never forget. Broken bones and broken cars make somewhat the same sound.
I have been told that during a vehicle crash, it seems just as slow for the person IN the crash as it is for a witness. I have only witnessed one wreck...it seemed as though it were in slow motion...as if you had time to warn the person that they were going to wreck...as you bight your lip and cringe. Watching it happen can be pretty traumatizing. Volunteering w/ the FD, we experience the aftermath. My Dad had plenty of horrific stories to tell when he was a firefighter (which made me think twice about how people drive) and that was back when we didn't use/have seat belts, have special glass, air bags, special bumpers, etc. Now we have all the "gadgets", just enough to distract us..(I'm shaking my head)
Being part of a "mortality" incident seems to warp time, whether you're directly involved or "merely" a witness.
Another example would be seeing the incoming shell during battle. Reports from the Civil War up through WWII, soldiers say the shell looked like it was moving so slowly they could catch it. In fact, some Civil War soldiers lost limbs trying to catch/kick incoming shells.
1982 - mom's 1980 buick, pulled out in front of someone, crashed in driver side front quarter panel, no injuries. grounded from driving for two weeks.
1993 - my 1/2 ton gmc pu. drunk as hell and fell asleep and hit the side of a driveway. limped it home in the middle of the night. no injuries. didn't drink for two weeks.
2003 - my 1/2 ton gmc pu (different one). pulled out in front of someone. ticket for failure to yield. no injuries. salvage titled wrecked truck. bought new truck in two weeks.
That is my entire wreck history.
Auntie, that was was nick-named "The Marshmallow", that's food.
Beth, I always figured you to be a cautious one. Have you ever crossed the line?
Moose, You need a blog.
Darev, Crepitus sounds like a skin infection.
Ginger, It happened very slowly. The older I get the fewer gizmos I can tolerate.
Very interesting, Walt. I never heard that, but I totally believe it.
g, you make me wish I had a wrecker just to follow you around.
Not sure what line you're talking about. ;)
Uhh Huh!
ive been driving since i was 12.
not a bad record for 30 years of driving.
g, got you beat, I started at 11. I could only drive on the backroads and into and outta the town of chinook. AND, I have never been the one driving in an accident.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Guy.
auntie, it doesn't matter. men are simply better drivers.
It is rare that I go anywhere when someone else is driving. Auntie, your driving instills fear in me. I recently went out for lunch with the Black Mamba, and I was surprised that I her driving was excellent. I didn't even gasp for my last breath even once.
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