I’ve always loved the Bangles. “Walk Like an Egyptian”, “Eternal Flame”…Are you kidding me? Serious 1980s gold. But yesterday brought the Bangles back to me with a quick skid and an indelible mark on the curb and my soul. It was a Manic Monday.
It began innocently enough, though the rain made Miller the Dog unwilling to take his morning constitutional. Then, I was running late. Not that I blame him.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay has been dumping sheets of rain on the metro area for two days. Puddles and oil decorated the side streets and by-ways that I take daily to get to school. My trusty Toyota Camry swiftly navigated my morning route. Perhaps too swiftly. Just as Jennifer Nettles was belting out “It happens”…it did. My car began to spin, slowly it seemed, but that’s probably just me. I hit the curb on the other side of the wet road and held on as my sweet Camry gave me my own Dukes of Hazzard dream. The road stared in my driver’s side window as I hung suspended by my seatbelt, praying that the car wouldn’t flip. Three tires made hard contact with the ground and the fourth, my rear passenger side tire landed squarely on the same curb that had pushed me careening into the air.
I breathed deeply and slowly. Amazed that I could breath at all. No glass was shattered, no bones were shattered. I was okay! I meekly opened the door and surveyed the damage to my car. The driver’s side was perfect, the front end and headlights in one piece…I started to get really excited and then I saw my rear passenger side tire. It was perpendicular to the rest of the car. Even I, with my limited mechanical knowledge, knew that this was no good.
After phone calls to police, tow truck, my girl, insurance agency, and rent-a-car-o-rama, I am okay. More anxious behind the wheel, a little sore, but okay. My sweet students were more than kind. And, until further notice, I am the driver of an ultra-fuel efficient Suzuki Reno. Susanna Hoff, eat your heart out.
My hot rental ride
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