Still not dead!~
So yeah, I had a little bit of an accident tonight. No one was hurt except my
wallet, but it's taken alot of time.
Apparently flash floods do happen around here. I was driving along with a hard
drizzle, and then it was like buckets of water falling all of a sudden. I was in
the middle lane in traffic (it's usually light on 311 but today because it was
raining we were more bunched up). Some body blows past me on the left and then
the ass end breaks loose (for those of you like my wife who have no idea what
the hell that means, the rear portion of my pickup truck lost all positive traction
on the pavement) and Wizard of Oz, here I come. I force corrected the wheel so I
stopped spinning (I really hate spinning in an out of control vehicle, *shrug* it's
a thing). That was the good news (I like to think of Bran Bronzebeard whenever I
hear that). The bad news was that I was still moving at roughly 50 mph +/- in the
left lane...and backwards. But I didn't have to worry about that for long.
See, because I was hydroplaning part of my momentum was due to the movement
of the water. And the road curved ... in. So I'll be generous and guesstimate
that I slowed to about 40 when I went off the road. The median was very
soggy so it didn't really hurt...just didn't really help me stop either. The
slope up to the lane going the other way, that helped stop me....right into the
6 inches of running water between the two lanes. So that proved once again
that a non-4x4 does not belong in deep, soggy shit.
Now as many will deduce, I had a phone, but I don't generally have need
of a wrecker so having said phone was pretty useless. As it so happened,
a cop pulled up going the other way (same way I was facing mind you)
and called the wrecker and waited there with me. City of High Point
dude. Very nice considering the rain, and you know...that he didn't have
to not be a cock like most cops that drive past me when something does go
wrong. I usually have just squadrons of cops drive past when I have
issues and don't even look up. So you know, I like to acknowledge the
good cops when I find them. No I don't know his name, he had a big ass
rain proof jacket on. Anyway, so he stayed right there with lights on
making sure nothing else happened and that was damned appreciated.
Next Capt'n Slappy pulls up with the flatbed wrecker and I knew this would
be interesting. Looked like he has dentures in and still only has half his
front teeth. Opens the door and hangs out kinda like a monkey, squinting
around then ducks back in for a moment...just a brief moment before emerging
triumphantly with his "trusty hat." I should mention here that this gentlemen
was no spring chicken. I'd roughly estimate him to be in his mid 60s. He l
ooks at me (as I've crawled out the passenger side by this point) and says,
"Cou'dt see tw'out mah haiet. Keeps rain out mah ahs." Aye, Aye Capt'n.
Fortunately he was a proper ol' redneck, and hooked me up and pulled me
out gently and quickly. No marks or issues from the tow, so YAY there.
But then of course, came the part I was least excited about.
"Alright, I thank you sir. Now I know my insurance will cover this but I
don't know how you go about your side of things." I smile expectantly
in the rain.
He blinks water out of his "ahs," his trusty hat obviously failing him,
and looks at me like I just smeared shit on my face in front of him.
"Ah take caish."
Oh boy. Yeah cuz I carry around plenty of that. So I told him up front
that I had none on me, but that I'd be happy to hit an ATM and let him
follow me or whatever.
"Ah reck'n I'kin do thayot." I'm not sure either, but I took that as an
affirmative. So he unhooks me, and we pull out back on to 311.
He basically led me all the way back to the Wachovia on the corner
of Far & Gone. Then things got really good.
I park and get out as he's pulled longways behind me in the driveway.
Wrecker's still running and he's looking away from me as he's working
at pulling a receipt book out of something beside him (I'm short and
he's inna wrecker....plus I didn't really wanna get that close).
Basically all I can hear is:
"engine engine engine...ain't gon tell nobudy...engine engine engine..roight?"
Uh huh. So I just ask him, "How much do I need to pull out for ya?"
"Woll, ahm pose ta git $90, but ah gist don tink ah'd like et too much
if man told me ah had a pay no $90."
I nodded. He might have been asking me out.
Seriously, I knew this speech from when I did need wrecker services more
often (long story). Likely to be mentioned in a different post the way
things have been going for me. ;)
"Ahl take $50 'stead. Thass fair, ain't et?"
Well hell yeah it's fair compared to $90.
So instead of getting home at or a little before 6, I got home around 7:30+,
plugged my now dead phone in to talk to my Dad about checking anything
in the engine that might have had issues with suddenly being drowned and
listen to my Mom tell me all about her garden...again.
Also, I still need to get gas. /sigh