No, No – Not My Brand New Car!

I saw it coming and felt the tires skidding on the wet pavement so I put my hands over my eyes, while saying, ‘OH S- -T!’

So, remember my cute little retro black Ford Thunderbird which Crystal wrecked in the Deas Tunnel 6 car pile-up last April? No? Well, I guess it made more of an impact on me… Kent bought me the car for my 50th Birthday and I only drove it about once a week, so it had very low mileage and was in mint condition. Crystal shortened it at both ends – sort of accordianed it, you know? I know, I know – I should never have loaned it to her – or anyone else for that matter – but I did. Everyone wanted to drive it!

We were away all summer so I didn’t replace the car until October. I bought a new ‘crossover’ Ford Edge. It feels wide and solid on the road, sort of like a frog on the ground and I actually like it a lot. I don’t like driving though – especially in the rain and the dark. So, how ironic is this?

I needed to go to Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham today for a very special shopping expedition and asked Crystal to go with me. Actually I begged her, I threatened her, I made her feel guilty and she finally caved, ‘Oh, okay then, but you’ll really owe me.’ Ya, ya… whatever.

So, we were in the parking lot looking for a space and Crystal (who was driving of course) spotted one and headed toward it. We both saw the other car come speeding around the corner at the last minute and Crystal jammed on the brakes, while I swore.

We stopped, but the other driver was going so fast (she was late for work, came around the corner and said she ‘was going 20 – or maybe a little more’ – ya, it was a ‘lot more’) she never even had time to react. The impact stopped her car.

I was very surprised our airbags didn’t deploy – ouch that might have really hurt. We both parked and got out. I was worried about the other driver as she looked around 19 maybe and seemed to be in shock. I was soon to find out why! She asked if we were okay and apologized, saying she was on her way to work and she was late.

She also said she DID NOT have insurance.

How can that be? How do you get away driving without insurance? Umm, she just couldn’t afford to pay it this month.

‘You were going so fast in the parking lot. What if you’d killed someone?’, asked Crystal. ‘I’d kill myself.’ was her answer.

So, no insurance, we’re on private property in the mall parking lot – what do you do? She called her dad. We called Kent. She called the cops – they said they wouldn’t come. She called again, said she didn’t have insurance – they said they’d come – in a while. She was positive they’d give her a huge ticket for driving without insurance – but she wanted to do the right thing. That really impressed me.

We exchanged information then I suggested she go in to work and we’d call her when the cops came. They were surprisingly quick, we explained the situation, they said they couldn’t do anything and we’d have to go to the police station to file a report since we were on private property.

By this time, I was feeling so sorry for the girl I said to Crystal, let’s just give her a break. We were going in to the mall to find her, as she was coming out, so we walked her back in. She had tears in her eyes as she apologized over and over. I said, “Look – this is a parking lot – there are no stop signs – you were going way too fast and not watching, but we’re calling it 50/50. My deductible is $500.00 so we’ll just split that – you send me $250.00 when you can.”

How can you be mad at someone when they have tears in their eyes, they seem sincerely sorry, they’re young, they’re working a lousy job for low pay, and Christmas is so near? I hope my forgiveness teaches her more than a huge police ticket, a lawsuit or anger ever would.

I gave her a hug and we carried on with our exciting shopping expedition to Sears. I’ll tell you lots more about that on Monday!