A near-death experience. I had to wait almost 80 years. For my first
one. But some how, we escaped. Miraculously. With no more than cuts and
bruises. Not only me. But my Italian amore, Cristina. And another
Italian friend, Giovanna. Hard to believe. If you looked at our car.
Smashed. A total wreck. Inside Yellowstone National Park. A rude
interruption to our vacation. When a mammoth recreation vehicle. Veered
into our lane of traffic. And headed straight for us. It happened so
fast. In an instant. A fraction of a second. But it seemed like time had
slowed. Time to think. Possibly my last thoughts. Forever. Must be
someone intent on committing suicide, I initially surmised.. He wasn't going to avoid us. He
was going to hit us. Head-on. As if it was intentional. A suicide mission. Just before impact, I turned left. Maybe
that's what saved our lives. Made for sort of a T-bone collision. Rather than a
full-blown head-on. Prevented the motor from coming into the vehicle and
crushing us. Still, on impact, I felt we were certain goners. But I
never lost consciousness. Nor did the others. Our seat belts and air
bags saved us. We were able to climb from the wreckage. Almost
unscathed. On our feet. Incredible. Incredible. To be alive. And
walking, too. Five minutes after the crash, Cristina had camera in hand.
Taking pictures of the wreckage. A confirmation. That she was all right. I reached into the back seat,
to help a stunned Giovanna to safety. Then I felt a pang of joy. With
the permeating knowledge. That we had all survived. Intact. Wasn't until
we were all riding to the hospital. In an ambulance. That I became aware.
I was in shock. Trembling. So badly. That I couldn't fill out the
forms handed to me by the police and paramedics. In the hospital, I
cried. When the thought occurred. What would I have done? If Cristina
and Giovanna had perished. I would have wanted to die, too. --Jim Broede
A MOMENTARY INTERRUPTION
If
I had died instantly. On impact. My last living thought would have
been, 'This guy is on a suicide mission. He wasn't going to avoid us.
He
was going to hit us. Head-on. It was intentional.' Turns out. The driver
claimed something went wrong with his steering. A mechanical
malfunction. I'm skeptical. As I wait for the results of the
investigation. Coming in two or three weeks. So many possibilities. In
my fertile imagination. Maybe the driver of the RV was having an
argument with his wife. Maybe he fell asleep. Maybe he was drunk. Maybe
he was phone texting. Maybe. Maybe. So many maybes. I'll try to keep an
open mind. Just give me the facts. The most important one, of course,
is that we all are alive. It wasn't a tragedy. Merely an accident. A
momentary interruption in our wonderful and blessed lives. --Jim
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