“One thousand one, one thou… “that was it – under two seconds. That’s all it took.

“One thousand one, one thou… “I didn’t hear a sound, just felt the thrust of the sudden impact then complete stillness. Then screaming, crying, shaking, fear, horror, disbelief.

“One thousand one, one thou…” They say that your life flashes before your eyes in a moment such as this. In this case my wife’s life was flashing before my eyes. I was so worried she was badly hurt. I could only think of her in that second and a half.

“One thousand one, one thou…” the side airbag did just as it had promised. Completely deployed and kept my wife insulated from the intruding steel and potential glass. She was holding her chest and screaming “are they alright? Is anyone else outside hurt?” Of course in the middle of This – she was worried about everybody else.

“One thousand one, one thou…” I got out of my side of the car. My wife could not get out of the driver’s side door. It was no longer a door, but rather a mangled pile of sheet metal. The door armrest was protruding into her side and the seat was smashed inboard and would not move. Our car which we named Sweet Pea nine years earlier had carried us on almost 100,000 miles together. Sweet Pea held up just enough to keep us safe from great harm. She was family and was now dying.

“One thousand one, one thou…” I helped my wife get out of the car getting her unhooked and pulling over the console and to the other side, and then had her sit on the curb beside the cars – she was in a state of shock but no obvious physical injuries.

“One thousand one, one thou…” as I got out I saw that there was a couple in the car that had “T-boned” Sweet Pea. They were both all right. None of their air bags deployed and both seemed actually pretty good. Their Cadillac however had a broken axle and torn off front bumper.

“One thousand one, one thou…” The police came. The tow trucks came and hauled away the cars. Ironically and hauntingly, Sweet Pea’s wipers were moving back and forth as she was being pulled up on to the bed of the tow truck – as if to wave goodbye one last time.

We had taken everything out of the car before having it towed away.  Now it and we were sitting on the curb. We were the last ones still on the scene. We called a cab to come get all our stuff and take us away. We decided to spend the night and fly home the next day. There was no thought given to renting a car and driving 600 miles after this. We went to a walk in clinic to make sure we were not injured beyond soreness and bruising.

“One thousand one, one thou…” It is so hard to believe how lives completely change in less than 2 seconds.

Everyone chooses a wallpaper to keep on their screen to remind themselves of a place or person. Every time they turn on their device, it immediately takes them to that memory. My mind’s eye has a new wallpaper. I did not choose it, I do not want it, I do not like it, and I cannot turn it off.  Every time I close my eyes – there it is -“One thousand one, one thou…”