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September 21, 2024
A LOOSELY CONNECTED SERIES OF RANDOM EVENTS
Ok, so how many times have you been invited to visit a friend in the hospital who has just given birth?
It seems like a good idea in theory, but I strongly recommend reconsidering before showing up at the hospital for a visit.
The new Mom is most likely exhausted from having just given birth
The baby is most likely also exhausted from the experience and will be asleep.
It's probably better to wait a few days until they both have recovered and are comfortably at home before you visit.
Plus, if you insist on visiting them at the hospital there is a good chance you might be involved in a fiery car crash on your way home.
Well at least that is what happened to me.
Back in 2010, Corinne and I were working out of the same office space in Lansdowne, Va.
In March, one of Corinne's co-workers gave birth to a baby and we were invited to visit said baby at the hospital across from our office.
We did so and the Mom was tired, and the baby was sleeping.
So, after a few minutes we left the hospital and headed for home.
Since we had both driven different cars to work, I told Corinne that I would follow her home.
She was driving our 1998 Chevrolet Suburban which is built like a tank.
I was driving a Mercedes, ML 430 SUV which is not built like a tank.
We pulled out of the hospital parking lot and merged onto Route 7 with me following the Suburban in my Mercedes.
Since it was time for Happy Hour, I called Corinne on her cell phone and asked her if she wanted to stop by our neighborhood Irish pub - O'faolains - for a drink.
After all It was right there on our route home.
She declined.
So, here's another bit of advice - If you ever get an invitation to go to an Irish Pub for Happy Hour - accept it.
Because if you don't, there is a good chance you might be involved in a fiery car crash on your way home.
About three miles down Route 7 there is an intersection with a left turn lane that is divided from the thru lanes.
Some idiot who missed the left turn lane decided to stop in the thru lane when the light turns green and wait there to turn left.
Unfortunately, all the other drivers rushing to get home can only see the green light and keep going.
Corinne is two cars behind the idiot's stopped car, so she is able to stop.
I see her brake lights and slam on my brakes and am able to stop - about 18 inches from the back bumper of the Suburban.
I immediately look in the rearview mirror to make sure the car behind me was going to be able to stop in time.
No such luck.
She slams her car into the back of my Mercedes with such force that it drives my car into the rear of Corinne's Suburban and impales it on the trailer hitch.
As I watch the car hit me in the mirror, I see another car behind her suddenly go flying in the air and then burst into flames.
It was a Jeep Patriot and the SUV following it had struck the gas tank.
I got out of my car to check on Corinne and then the both of us ran back to see what was going on with the Jeep.
The Jeep was on its side and the wind was whipping the flames over the bottom of the vehicle towards the hood.
Everyone else involved in the crash was uninjured but the driver of the Jeep was trapped in the flaming vehicle.
I ran back to the Suburban to see if there was anything that could be used to smash the windshield but could not find anything.
While I was looking, a mechanic from one of the garages across the highway got close enough to kick at the windshield and although he was unable to break it he did manage to dislodge it from the frame on one side.
His jeans caught fire while he was kicking the windshield and bystanders had to use blankets to smother the flames.
For the next several minutes, which felt like hours, all we could do was watch helplessly and wait for the emergency vehicles we could hear in the distance to arrive.
Finally, we noticed some movement in the car and the driver, a young college student, was able to push the loosened windshield out far enough to crawl out.
I remember thinking she looked like some Gollum-like creature as she emerged.
She was carried away from the flames and soon thereafter the emergency vehicles arrived, and she was transported to the hospital.
I found out later that she was in the hospital for several days but was expected to make a full recovery.
It took me a while, but from this experience I learned several things:
Life is gloriously random, and sometimes all you can do is shake your head and smile at the absurdity of it.
One minute, you agree to skip Happy Hour at your favorite Irish Pub, and the next, you're witnessing a fiery Jeep hurtling through the air like some twisted circus act.
Life rarely follows the script we have in mind.
We plan, we schedule, we worry about small inconveniences, but in the grand scheme, life often turns out to be a loosely connected series of random events.
And that's precisely why it's so important to live each day to the fullest - because you never know when the mundane, like a trip to visit a friend and her newborn or a simple car ride home, might spiral into something truly bizarre.
So, embrace the randomness.
Say yes to Happy Hour at the pub, take the detour, and be grateful for the little moments in between.
Because sometimes, those little moments are all we can really control.
