Greensburg —
I saw a car wreck today.
Karin was driving us, and we both saw two small cars strike each other in the intersection ahead of us. Not more than a quarter mile before, the red VW had zipped in and out of lanes at a high rate of speed, as the twenty-something driver swerved around us, leading Karin to make a remark.
The orange Nissan was turning right in front of the speeding red car. Bam! The front struck her on the right back panel, spinning her violently. Somehow, he was able to keep his lane and came to a halt 20 yards ahead. Immediately, we pulled over. Karin heard a child screaming and jumped out to investigate. I called 9-1-1. A crowd quickly gathered.
Abrupt violence shakes you up. A million thoughts clutter your mind. Your senses are suddenly alert. Soon, you find yourself just appalled and distressed. In a twinkling, two cars were totaled. The woman had two children in the car, and she wasn't sure she wanted the medical personnel to check on her boys, because she had no insurance. Auto fluids flowed to the curb. Traffic snarled behind us.
Driving away later, Karin and I noted how grateful we are that so far none of our family has been in such a wreck. Our kids are over 18 now and licensed, but the fear never quite goes away. They could be driving safely and still find themselves crunched by some idiot texting her bff. ÒSo far, so good,Ó we thought.
These things happen daily in a metropolis. Broken legs, car engines up in smoke, whiplash, gashes, nightmares, lawsuits, and so it goes. Apparently, this is the risk we accept by joining life's traffic. But that doesn't mean you should ever get used to seeing it with your own eyes.
Some folks (like me) wax philosophical when a leaf flutters to the ground. We read into every incident, searching for meaning, wondering what God might have intended for us to learn from the experience. We filter such events heavily, even after we head on down the road. Look, I'm even writing about it two hours later.
You don't know these people. You weren't there. The collision has no impact on you whatsoever. You're a mountain range away. It's not unusual that it happened. It's all cleaned up by now.
For all I could tell, nobody was seriously hurt. Still, I think it is good every so often to ponder the way reality unfolds. It puts the moment into context.
Karin talked with the screaming boy until he had calmed down and emergency personnel arrived to conduct a more systematic examination.
Her elementary school teacher demeanor kept him focused, while the mother at fault wandered all over, uncertain what to do next. Karin smiled that smile, giving one child a moment's grace, then we left to go pick up her sewing machine at the shop.
And to think, I witness that smile nearly every blessed day.
Columns
Harter: Incident report
- Columns
-
-
Camp Lejuene vets may be entitled to medical assistance
Last year, on Aug. 6, President Obama signed into law the “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012.”
-
The mound builders of the Woodland Period
About 1000 B.C. marks the beginning of a new period for man in North America.
-
Fit for a king, priced for the common man
In the early 1900’s the art glass market was ruled by the Tiffany family.
-
The Old Copper Indians
The Old Copper Indians, were a unique division of Boreal Archaic, so named because its Indian carriers used raw copper for making specific kinds of knives, spear ponts, socketed axes, gouges, pikes and awls.
-
Home remedies, recipes and the best time to plant your garden
Unique in it’s contents and inexplicably accurate, the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” stands as the oldest continuously published periodical in North America.
-
June flowers on the way?
It looks like the April showers are carrying into May.
-
Historic bar and World War II slave labor
You may remember Tom Keating, who for several years wrote an Indianapolis Star column.
-
Hoosier soil on veterans’ graves
Butch Kennedy and his son Shane did something rather marvelous. When the two were going to Europe some years ago they dug up some Indiana earth from around his land at Smith’s Crossing and took it with them to Europe.
-
The post-war trials of WWI vets
It is appropriate to remember that the United States entered World War I 96 years ago this month, that the Civil War began 152 years ago this month, and that the Desert Storm Cease Fire was this month in 1991.
-
A positive minute: What a time
As I write these words this morning I am also listening to Boston police communications.
- More Columns Headlines
-
Camp Lejuene vets may be entitled to medical assistance
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
Wave of Attacks Kills Scores in Iraq
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
Company Promises to Make All Snail Mail Digital
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
