WRECKAGE

On a cold winter's morning in 1987 I made a mistake that almost cost the lives of a number of people, myself included. (If you are the owner or occupant of the Chrysler that I cut in front of I am sorry and am truly grateful that only our vehicles were destroyed.) Driving on my way into the office along a concession road to Highway 37 north of Belleville I turned left onto the highway and into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Due to mist and snow on my windshield, which I had neglected to remove, I never knew of the danger until the event had passed and both cars were wrecks. I remember my knees giving out after walking to a neighbour's home to call my office and my parents but other than that I did not even have a bruise (in spite of the local newspaper reporting that occupants of both vehicles suffered minor injuries). The final lines of the poem "To Emily and to Life" echo my feelings for the remainder of that day. I did eventually go into the office tremendously grateful to God that I was still able to do so.

    I still walk this world

    I still praise my God

    I rejoice in that

The damage does not look so bad in the photo below because of the angle but the two front tires point in different directions and the entire right side of the car has been shoved in about 20 cm. Friends who saw the car in person remarked that I was lucky to be alive and I tend to agree with them, the full-sized Chrysler that hit me was doing at least 80 km/hr when I pulled out in front of it). Many years later it still takes some effort for me to cross that intersection, even though a traffic signal has since been installed.