Chris Writing Anything

Injuries. I think everybody, when you inspect their entire life, has survived at least one. They can come in many forms: scrapes, bruises, cuts, and last, but definitely not least, broken bones. I consider myself lucky because I have only broken one…knock on wood.

That instance occurred, and it’s a painful memory, one filled with regret, anyways, I had crashed my mom’s beloved car. I totaled it, destroyed it beyond all repair. And it happened because I was doing something she forbade me to do…ughh, today, and it wasn’t always the case, I hate telling this story.

County road K, the site of my ill-fated incident, is mainly a country road in Brussels, Wisconsin. And though the highway is a shorter route to my parents house, I loved to take this alternate path. The reason? In a forested portion of K, being that there’s a campground nearby, the road serpentines through woodland. It’s fun for a teenaged boy to get a little speed going.

Now, I know what you’re thinking; I was forbidden to exceed the speed limit. Nah, it’s a little worse than that.

My mother expressly demanded that I did not smoke in her car. I simply ignored her, and I paid dearly for it. And as I age, I really do regret it.

You see, it was a fairly cool night. Because of that, in order to ash my cigarette, without leaving a trace, I cracked the driver’s side window open. Had I used the ashtray, it would have been a dead give away.

That being said, as I entered the curvy section of that county road, and tried to ash my cigarette, the cancer stick hit the window. It bounced off that pane of glass, causing alarm, and landed near my crotch.

I freaked out!

Suddenly, I paid no attention to the road, fearing a burn hole on my mom’s seat. Of course, as I brought my head from the road, and searched for the cigarette, I missed a curve. Immediately, the car hit a culvert and the stop was abrupt.

Because of the sudden stop, and since I had no seatbelt on, I surged forward. I attempted to stop the momentum with my hand, but, instead, punched a hole in the windshield. Amazingly, through all of that, I only broke one bone…that was a hand bone.

Today, I’m all healed, although I’m not sure mom has completely forgiven me. It’s a tough lesson when you learn, and I think young people can gain something from this, what you think doesn’t matter actually does. Hindsight, in my youth, and even as I age, I’ve made careless blunders. Eliminating those missteps going forward makes me a better me. Today, I definitely have that in mind.

Have an excellent day!!