The Slice: Accident reminds us to count our blessings

According to the police report, the collision occurred at 7:14 a.m.

This was last Saturday. The sound woke me up.

My first thought was this: Is that the newspaper being delivered? What is he using now, a cannon?

Then my head began to clear. I started to process what I had heard.

There had been a metallic thud. Not a bang, really. More like a heavy hammer wrapped in a blanket hitting something hard but not solid.

I couldn’t tell you if there had been screeching tires or glass shattering. But maybe a second or so after the first noise there was follow-up scraping and a thump.

Car crash? Probably.

We live on a corner. It has happened before. Drivers go way too fast.

I swung my feet onto the floor and reached for my phone.

I think my wife was asking me what had happened and I think I said I didn’t know.

But as I moved toward the front door, I braced for the possibility that people were badly hurt. Images pressed themselves on my imagination that I tried to push back out.

If I took note of my attire – drawstring hospital pajamas and a T-shirt – I don’t recall.

Stepping outside, I was almost surprised by the quiet and stillness. The air quality had improved since Friday night.

One vehicle with a smashed-in front end and deployed airbag had come to rest in the yard near the corner. The second car had bucked over some good-sized rocks in our side yard and had then run into the house. That car had major damage to one side.

Both drivers had already exited their vehicles. One, the older of the two, sat on the curb. The other stood nearby. I think she was using a phone.

They did not seem to be injured.

No shouting. No recriminations. All was calm, or perhaps dazed.

I called 9-1-1. I was told the accident had already been reported.

I patted the older woman.

A couple of strangers were there, offering assistance. My wife asked the motorists if they needed anything.

Soon a fire truck arrived, then a police officer. Then the husbands of the drivers.

We all said it, or at least thought it. This could have been worse. So much worse.

Today’s Slice question: Is some little kid going to remember spending time with you this summer for the rest of his or her life?