Thursday, November 24, 2011

85. Whoops!

Despite Terd’s not thinking it a good idea, on the way home my head was full of plans for what I would call the  boarding house. I could find some kind of work for myself. And I knew Bouncer might like to pitch in. We wouldn’t have to ask Harpo. We could support him. Raiser and Kickstart were certainly young enough to work. So too were Cat, Izzy, and Headless. Terd would contribute. Agnes would probably go back to Ireland. Whoever stayed at home during the day could watch out for Beep Beep to ensure he kept his clothes on and stayed off the road.

Transportation would be a problem. We couldn’t all have cars. Well, maybe we could work out some kind of schedule to bus everyone around in our SUV.

It was now snowing hard and I wished I’d remained at Terd’s for dinner. In fact, I should have asked to spend the night and sleep on the couch. Not quite sure where I was, I thought I remembered turning at the light, putting me on the road that led to the bridge, but I could see nothing in the darkness and snow except for the occasional headlights of folks caught out here like me.

I hate driving when the snow is streaming into my headlights and I can hardly see anything else. I get mesmerized and find my eyes unfocusing and I have to look at the speedometer to stop my brain from concentrating on the flakes instead of what little I can see of the road up ahead. It’s easy to understand how people on foot become disoriented and lost in a blizzard. I looked up from the dashboard and I swear I saw something in front of me in the road. My foot instinctively slammed down on the brake pedal. The car swung around in a half circle and I was no longer in control. My head banged hard on the side window and I was yanked backward. I remember the feeling of spinning down a slope like a kid on a snow saucer. Then it was quiet, except for the engine. I could see nothing outside but a blizzard in the headlights. I pressed the accelerator to see if the car would move ahead, even though I sensed it wasn’t going anywhere. Something was pressing on the top of my head. I realized I was upside down.


Pat Boone - Winter Wonderland

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