Before you have a hissy fit (pun intended) I just wanted to let you know that my intention was to run over the cat...in hopes that it would be still and stay low to the ground, allowing me to refrain from hitting it with the car tires. It worked and the cat probably died of old age. I never saw it again. But the accident that was sure to take place and would actually result in a totaled car, was just beginning.
It's strange to think of an accident "just beginning." They happen so fast. But if you have ever actually been in an accident-especially if you were the driver- you'll know what I'm talking about. Everything slows down. It's as if you are in a surreal dream or walking in a sea of molasses.
Right after I told Danny that I was going to "run over that cat", I concentrated on my steering. The car my dad let me use had both power steering and power brakes. I knew that even a slight overreaction could be disastrous. While I was intently focusing, Danny - undoubtedly thinking I had lost my mind - reached over and turned the steering wheel about 4 inches to the left. As a result, we headed straight for the fenced in cow pasture...but before the pasture was the ditch. There was no doubt in my mind that we were about to experience a very unpleasant crash. (Is there such a thing as a pleasant one)?
I took my foot off the accelerator and planted both my feet on the floorboard. If I applied the power brakes at that speed, I'm sure the car would have flipped. Again...all of my reactions, all my thoughts before the reactions, came in an instant. There is no absolutely no way I could have thought all those things in an hour...much less recall all that information that quickly. No more than one second passed during the whole time before...well, I'll finish my story...tomorrow.
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