things
First off, Penny is alright. She's sore, and has a few bumps and bruises, and is of course still shaken up, but it otherwise okay. CT scans and x-rays showed no broken bones or internal injuries. The hospital wouldn't keep her overnight, so she called a cab and went to a motel. Problem was, all of her stuff, sans the clothes she was wearing and her purse, was still in the car, which was towed to an impound lot twenty miles from where she was staying, and she had no way to get there; as for the clothes, her shirt had been cut off by the ER folks, so all she had was a hospital gown.
Enter my new classmate, fellow 1L Nate, who went to Univ. of Arkansas in Fayetteville and knows lots of people there. He'd seen me in the bookstore soon after I got Penny's original message and I must have looked pretty bad, because he asked me if everything was alright. I told him what I knew at that point (very little, not even where she was) and he gave me his number and said to call if there was anything he could do, and that if she was in the Fayetteville area he knew lots of people there who would be glad to help. As it turned out, she was there, and he texted me later on, and I told him.... In short order, he'd gotten some friends of his to assemble some clothes for Penny to have, which they dropped off at the hotel this morning, as well as another friend who took her to get a rental car, helped her set the GPS, and helped her find where her newly-defunct car was.
Funny, because just two days before, a visiting professor and retired judge had told our assembled first year class that the most important thing we could do in law school, far more vital and far-reaching than anything else, was take care of one another. Nate and his friends certainly took care of Penny. I know I shouldn't be surprised at all, but the decency, kindness, and love people have for total strangers in times of crises continues to amaze me. I don't know if these folks are religious at all, but when Christ said "love thy neighbor", this is exactly what He meant.
So, after getting the car, and against the advice of both her sister and myself (the weather out there is still bad and she is really in no shape to be driving...we thought she should have spent the day resting) she got back on the road, ending up in Carthage, Missouri at around 2:45 pm. She had gotten off at the wrong exit and called me, the Master of Google Maps™, and I finally convinced her to spend the night there. I could tell from her voice that she was exhausted. So, she found a hotel, and last I heard was looking for something to eat.
She should be back in Wichita sometime tomorrow. I am just so thankful she wasn't hurt in the accident. The car is a total loss, the engine was destroyed by the impact. It's a wonder (maybe even a miracle, and yes I do believe in them) that she wasn't severely injured. Thank you, all of you, for all your prayers and thoughts and happy vibes. I know they helped, and it was comforting to her to be told that so many people, people she'd never met who are hundreds and thousands of miles away, were thinking of her.
Love really does make the world go 'round.
As for me, I'm working on my first class assignments, those that I am able to at any rate, since the books for two of my classes are not in the bookstore yet; classes start on Thursday morning at 9:50. It's also lonely in the apartment...this is really, truly, the first time I have ever lived alone in my life, without a relative or roommate. It's a strange feeling. It feels especially empty without Penny there.
Anyway, I should get back to studying now. Adieu. And thanks again.
Enter my new classmate, fellow 1L Nate, who went to Univ. of Arkansas in Fayetteville and knows lots of people there. He'd seen me in the bookstore soon after I got Penny's original message and I must have looked pretty bad, because he asked me if everything was alright. I told him what I knew at that point (very little, not even where she was) and he gave me his number and said to call if there was anything he could do, and that if she was in the Fayetteville area he knew lots of people there who would be glad to help. As it turned out, she was there, and he texted me later on, and I told him.... In short order, he'd gotten some friends of his to assemble some clothes for Penny to have, which they dropped off at the hotel this morning, as well as another friend who took her to get a rental car, helped her set the GPS, and helped her find where her newly-defunct car was.
Funny, because just two days before, a visiting professor and retired judge had told our assembled first year class that the most important thing we could do in law school, far more vital and far-reaching than anything else, was take care of one another. Nate and his friends certainly took care of Penny. I know I shouldn't be surprised at all, but the decency, kindness, and love people have for total strangers in times of crises continues to amaze me. I don't know if these folks are religious at all, but when Christ said "love thy neighbor", this is exactly what He meant.
So, after getting the car, and against the advice of both her sister and myself (the weather out there is still bad and she is really in no shape to be driving...we thought she should have spent the day resting) she got back on the road, ending up in Carthage, Missouri at around 2:45 pm. She had gotten off at the wrong exit and called me, the Master of Google Maps™, and I finally convinced her to spend the night there. I could tell from her voice that she was exhausted. So, she found a hotel, and last I heard was looking for something to eat.
She should be back in Wichita sometime tomorrow. I am just so thankful she wasn't hurt in the accident. The car is a total loss, the engine was destroyed by the impact. It's a wonder (maybe even a miracle, and yes I do believe in them) that she wasn't severely injured. Thank you, all of you, for all your prayers and thoughts and happy vibes. I know they helped, and it was comforting to her to be told that so many people, people she'd never met who are hundreds and thousands of miles away, were thinking of her.
Love really does make the world go 'round.
As for me, I'm working on my first class assignments, those that I am able to at any rate, since the books for two of my classes are not in the bookstore yet; classes start on Thursday morning at 9:50. It's also lonely in the apartment...this is really, truly, the first time I have ever lived alone in my life, without a relative or roommate. It's a strange feeling. It feels especially empty without Penny there.
Anyway, I should get back to studying now. Adieu. And thanks again.