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Part one of this series here.
It?s been a few weeks since the anger over losing my beloved F-150 has faded, as if losing my truck was more important than the fact that I was not seriously injured. According to the United States Department of Transportation, male drivers aged 16 to 29 are the most dangerous people on the road.
The guy who hit me and totaled both vehicles in the process was 28.
As much as I want to be in denial about it, I was a young driver and fitted that category perfectly. My angst towards the guy subsided when I remembered the accidents I had caused, and how I became more respectful of the machines I drove over time.
Forty Dollar Folly
When I was 18, or so, I borrowed a co-worker?s 1965 Plymouth Valiant with a push button transmission. It was black with red interior. I lived up north and was driving on a clear road, except it was covered with black ice. Due to my inexperience, I failed to recognize it and lost control of the car. I ended up down an eight-foot embankment, the car smashing dead on a boulder. The rock didn?t move, but the front of the car was pushed back quite a ways and it was totaled. I only suffered a scratched knee when it busted the 8-track tape.
Of course, there was a cost to my poor driving and I had to reimburse my co-worker for what the car was worth to the tune of $40.00 per paycheck, a lot back then. I felt bad about the whole thing, but at least there was no one else invol...