Car-razy

The Ds drove D2's car to Gainesville last Thursday, with 2 of their frineds. I ALWAYS hold my breath on those trips, since tragedies on the highway are an almost cliched part of young adulthood.

News junkie that I am, I was scanning the NY TImes online, and learned of a horrific accident yesterday where a 36 year old idiot mother drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway North of NYC, and killed 8, four of whom were children. The grandmother of the kids (and the idiot's mother) was from my old 'hood, Levittown.

So, Wifey and I went out for a happy day on Lincoln Road, and a fine Middle Eastern lunch after a great movie ("The Hurt Locker"), and I kept one eye of the texts that came as the Ds and friends made their way south.

They called from a stop in southern Palm Beach county, and I breathed a relief sigh.

About one hour later, Ds called: "Dad, everyone is ok, but we had an accident on South Dixie Highway. The police are here."

5 hour story short: everyone WAS fine, but D2's friend Brett, driving her Volvo, avoided a short stopping u turner, and sideswiped a '94 VW. The Volvo wouldn't move, I'm hoping because of a post-accident interlock feature, or possibly a broken axle. The VW, driven by a lovely young Colombian nursing student, had a flat front tire.

The really cool Miami cop (Delray Beach native, just moved here 2 years ago after a long stint with the Palm Beach Sherriff's office ("No offense to them, but I really couldn't stand ALL the old people anymore") and I of course became buds. He laughed when I told him about my mother's little car adventure ("I had one of those per week!"). He'll be calling later this week with a question about his father's claim of medical malpractice against Delray Community Hospital.

He ticketed Brett, and the cars were towed away, after slowing the late Sunday south Dixie traffic to a crawl for a few hours. I drove Brett and Carly home, and we finally made it. The debriefing with the anxious Pinecrest parents was more light hearted and brief than I had feared.

Brett's parents couldn't stop apologizing. I couldn't stop telling them how lucky we all were not to be dealing with the sorts of things 2 or 3 families were facing the same day in suburban New York.

The cars will be fixed. Dead people can't be.