Skip to main content

If I Have to Have a Fender-Bender, Let it Be in Provo

Ivy, over at Uncharted, is having a contest, asking for the best opening line of a country western ballad. When I was typing the title of this post, I could almost hear the twanging of guitar strings. That title, perhaps like many country western lyrics, was born of experience.

Photo: A rear bumper, with a small hole and various scratches and scuffs

Monday morning, I was on my way back home after picking up some kolaches from Hruska's. (Yes, I had tried them for the first time on Saturday morning, and went back on Monday morning for more. If you've had them, you'll understand.) I was stopped at a 4-way stop, waiting for the car to the right of me to proceed before making a left turn, when BAM! a car plowed into me from behind. I couldn't believe it. I made the turn, pulled over to the side of the road, and the offender pulled up behind me. 

A young man, presumably a BYU student, got out of the car and immediately said, "I'm so sorry!" I didn't see any major damage to my car's bumper, so didn't bother to even get his name. He kept pointing to places on my bumper.

"Was that there before?" ("Yes," I said, then thought, "that's where a lady rear-ended me years ago when I stopped for a passing ambulance, and she didn't." )

"What about these scratches?" ("Yes, they were already there," I said, as I thought, "those were very recently obtained when I didn't quite pull far enough into the garage before pushing the button to shut the garage door!)

"You're so kind. You're so kind." He kept repeating himself. I just kept seeing my own children in him. I was fine. My car was fine. He was apologetic. He wasn't under the influence. (This is Provo, after all, home of the nation's #1 "Stone-Cold Sober" university--for 20 years in a row!) 

Besides, I had kolaches in the car that were getting cold. We shook hands, and got back into our cars. After he pulled away--I insisted he go first. I might be kind, but I'm wary, too!--I drove home, composing to myself that future country hit, If I Have to Have a Fender-Bender, Let it Be in Provo. 






Pin It

Comments

  1. I know the young man was thankful for a honest lady! Bless you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I was impressed with his humility and concern.

      Delete
  2. I just love the title of your blog...We all sometimes need reminding to be thankful and there is always so much to be thankful for. God bless you...

    gramswisewords.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I saw this the other day - love the title. I'm sure he was grateful to meet someone as good and kind as you. Most people would've made this a very different scenario.
    Lisa @ The Meaning of Me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was impressed with the way he handled it. He made it easy to just let it go.

      Delete
  4. Great song title and great story. Glad you weren't hurt.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks! Hope all is going well with you. Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Autumn Edition

It's autumn time, one of my favorite times of year.  I just couldn't leave this weekend as a one-post weekend.  

Ten Things of Thankful: Last Two Weeks

  Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, as viewed from an overlook I apologize for not commenting on your blog posts this past week; John and I took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park, leaving behind our computers and, to a large extent, cell phone service. We escaped the outside world and just spent time in nature. Though we have friends near Yellowstone (who we love to visit) we made this trip just about us, so please forgive us if we were nearby and didn't stop by. The crowds were minimal (though we did mask up whenever we passed someone on the trails) and we spent our days hiking, taking photos, and watching geysers erupt. Today, we are back home and back to work, and, in the case of my computer, back to old shenanigans like not letting me import my photos. (I was able to add the above photo by using blogger on my phone, but that isn't my preferred method.) I want to write about Yellowstone and have photos I want to share, but will leave that for another

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this