Upon returning to Macon on Friday after my 3 days at Rock Eagle, I decided on a whim (kind of) to head down to Florida for the weekend. 25 miles into my return trip on Sunday afternoon, the driver's side of my car was slammed into by an ornery old man who swears up and down that he had a left turn arrow at the intersection that I was crossing. I beg to differ, as my light was green. Someone's wrong. Hmmmm.
My car is not driveable. $12,000 worth of damage, actually, and I'm waiting on the word about whether or not it's totalled. It's in Florida, 300 miles away.
In spite all of this, God was good. I was only 20 minutes from Cal's house, and he was still home (he had talked about going for a long bike ride to the beach), so he came to pick me up. A nice old man named Buck stayed with me and kept me company until Cal could get there, and both forcefully stood up for me when the cops (and other drivers) were far from friendly. I wasn't in the middle of nowhere.
I'm unhurt, except for some seatbelt bruises. And we all know how I love bruises! Hurrah!
I returned to Macon yesterday, two days later than originally planned. Enterprise couldn't hook me up with a rental until 6 pm Monday night, so that ruled out traveling back for work on Tuesday. As one of my students just pointed out, though, there are certainly worse things than being stuck in Florida with your long-distance boyfriend for two extra days. Too bad he was at work, though, and I was dealing with insurance companies, rental car places, and dirty old men.
What's that? I haven't told you about the dirty old men part?
Yesterday, on my way back to Macon, I stopped by the salvage yard to clean out my car in case it's totalled. The owner of the place, Ray, confirmed that I was a "Georgia Peach", proposed, set the wedding date for Saturday at 12:30, then promptly sealed the deal by buying me a root beer for my trip. I'd have preferred a diamond, of course, but, hey, a proposal is a proposal, right? Beggars can't be choosers.
By the way, Ray is 75 and already married. He also said something about checking out of the hotel Sunday morning and sending me on my way, as he can't be tied down too long. Gross.
Here's the photo documentation... I'm adding to the story, right?
A special thanks to Cal for his hospitality: allowing me to stay and throw off his work-week, cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast in the mornings, giving up his supper-break to get me to Enterprise, and being supportive and encouraging throughout the whole ordeal. I'm so glad I wasn't alone!
1 comment:
It ALL adds to the story. Way to tell it. (And glad you're safe & okay!! The car looks scarily bashed up!)
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