Well, this is an itty bitty bit premature to mention (way premature, honestly), BUHHHT (and as we all know, I got's me a big butt), I'm kinda just too excited to keep it in!
My auto insurance called me today, to tell me that right now, despite Idaho's recently issued open range legislation, it looks as though the cattle rancher will be held liable for my accident, due to negligence on his part, for not keeping his fence lines managed AND the fact that this kind of thing has happened to his cattle several times, demonstrating a history of negligence.
The situation could all change though, of course, as to who's deemed liable. I'm keeping this in mind, for sure.
But right now? The possibility that this guy, and his inability to give a shit about the safety of highway travelers, will be held liable? I'm very pleased.
Either way, and even still, I'm riding high on the fact that we were all sooooo okay despite the severity of the accident, AND that I've got a new car!
UPDATE as of 1/22/07: THE COW OWNER, Dennis Hunzeker, HAS DENIED THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG WITH HIS FENCING - Naturally, his insurance co. is now disputing liability.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
My "I Hit a Cow" Story, Part VI ~ The Latest re: Liability!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Why I Love Mah Sweet Honey-Man ~ Reason 2
I hadn't mentioned this in my recent update, but I need to be out of my aunt's home by tomorrow night.
For today, my honey-man has pushed back his return flight to Cali, so that while I'm in my 3rd day of a Grant Writing seminar, he'll be making a couple trips loading and unloading my things, delivering them to my new place of residence...
I love him because it was his idea.
THANK YOU MY SWEETNESS!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Proposing Proposals
For now, a brief update...
I'm at a Grant Writing seminar this week (on lunch break right now), today through Wed., and it includes 'homework' each night, so that's what I'll be up to until Thursday...
Our Thanksgiving was juhhhst WONDERFUL (yes, I'm shouting!)! It was GRRREAT! For those of you who don't know yet, we combined forces this year with my honey-man's former spouse and her man, and we had a grand Thanksgiving feast, all of us together with the boy-O! More on that later, with pictures...
Beyond Turkey Day, the weekend in L.A., although challenging at times, as is the nature of L.A., was great due to LOTS of heart warming cuddle time spent with my honey-man and the angel boy-O and my two fuzzy babies... More on Owen and his new personality development, in particular, much later, with pictures...
And my 'big news' is that I'm finally driving my newly purchased wheels, and doing so legally -- ya know, as in not illegally? The title issues were quickly resolved and we're quite pleased. If there's any question, yes, I bought another Toyota Matrix. This one is a 2005 XR model (my first had been a plain jane model) in a metallic 'charcoal' [this is the color description my honey-man insists it be called - - not dark silver or slate or pewter, but 'charcoal']. More on mah new car later, with pictures, of course...
And more re: my "I Hit a Cow" story: I wrote a public thank you statement for those who helped us the night of our accident, and I submitted my statement, which was published in the 'print' edition of the Bear Lake News-Examiner, on November 22nd. My Grams will be sending me the clipping soon.
My lunch break is not yet over, but I have a L.A. job application to wrap up and send off - - Toodles!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Overwhelmed + Broke = Chocolate
It's absolutely baffling, how my entire being - every part of me, body and soul - it WANTS and DEMANDS chocolate whenever I'm found in these kinds of circumstances...
I'm afraid I'll do a lot of damage this Thanksgiving...
If and when my car title 'situation' is resolved tomorrow (please, please, please, ohhhh PUHLEEZE!), I'll have to rush home for a self-induced, very rushed baking frenzy: homemade Parkerhouse Rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie, deviled eggs, cheesecake and the ever cherished Cranberry Fluff, and it'll be a double batch of that, of course!
Happy Gobbles to ya'll!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, to you and yours!
And it Continues... My "I Hit a Cow" Story, Part V
Well, this past weekend, I found a replacement car in L.A. - For its value and pricing, it's a superb vehicle and I chose to buy it. And now, although I have it with me, come time to register the thing this morning, I find out it can't be mine, as the title I've been given isn't legal... I'll leave it at that for now, as I'm not sure how things will be resolved.
However, I'm hopeful, as the fellow involved has told me we will go tomorrow to the CA DMV together to straighten this out.
P.S.
My honey-man's awesome calming powers over me are an amazing thing. My office staff can attest to this. He's a magic wonder, he is!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
My "I Hit a Cow" Story, Part IV: The Search Continues
[Be FOREWARNED, this one's a whiner]
Well, since October 29th, I've been online, searching each day for a replacement car, which I haven't yet found. For the kind of car I want (another Matrix, thanx!), the MSRP/Kelley Blue Book value runs around $18K, but dealership prices seem to run between $15-16K. Yes, this is a great thing, but there aren't many used ones in Vegas - most are in California, which makes my purchase effort a bit tricky. We'd been hoping to score a Matrix from the local LV auctions, priced seriously below not only MSRP, but going prices at the dealership. [BACKGROUND INFO: I bought my Matrix last year for $12.1K. It'd been listed for $14K at the time, but I was able to have the price knocked down.] The auction list came out today and there's a 2004 listed, but it has 44K miles on it = higher than I want; although not too high above average mileage for a 2004 model. Problem with a 2004 is most I come across, they were purchased in 2003, so the warranty is about to expire, even if it has low miles. Anywhoo...
The rest of the update is this:
I don't have a new car yet (yeah, I probably made that clear already, I know). I hope to buy something this coming weekend.
No news as to who's liable for the accident... I've been told this could take some time, which translates into "not until sometime next year." BUHHT, my insurance co. did finally send/mail the lien payoff amount of $9.9K, just today. And they gave me $11.8K for my car - - only $300 less than what I paid for it a year ago. Toyota sure holds it's value, although the KBB on mine, pre-accident of course, is $13K. BUHHT, after the payoff, minus my $500 deductible, that leaves me $1.2K towards the purchase of a replacement car... even though the Matrix now averages $3K more in price than it did a year ago, BUHHT somethin' is better than nothing, right?
A bit bummed, to be honest... The money I'd managed to save over the past 6 months, living with my aunt Radeane, saving for my move to California, will all be spent and then some, in order to buy a new car. [SEMI-RELATED TANGENT: Speaking of Cali, to continue the update here... No, I still have NO IDEA when I'll finally move to CA, especially now. And no, I have ZERO hopeful California job prospects right now. END OF TANGENT.] Yeah, really bummed out about all that... BUHHT at least I have the money to buy a new car, right? And we're all ohhhkay! Rather buy a new car than pay for a funeral, right?
My Grams is finally feeling much better. Of us all, she had been having the hardest time, physically. One of her shoulders is still acting up, but her energy is finally up and her swelling has subsided.
Oh, another thing re: my insurance: They will not cover the replacement costs for Brianna's aunt's damaged portable DVD player or the cost of a new baby car seat, nor my aunt's wool-cashmere blend peacoat... "only items physically installed as part of the vehicle, itself."
Also, my living situation must change: Without going into details (absolutely nothing went wrong at all between us or anything like that), I've been staying at my aunt's for 6 months now (THANK YOU, RA!), and after Thanksgiving, I need to move out. Not wanting to get tied up in a lease, considering I'm TRYING TO LEAVE LAS VEGAS, I'll be looking for a room rental situation. Not terribly thrilled - I feel like I'm living in my early 20's again -very transient- and I do not like it at all.
Winter is just about here. We still enjoy some 70s weather, but the nights are definitely cooler and the days will only lower in temperature from here on out. Typical. Problem is this: All of my winter clothes are deeply packed away in my very packed storage unit and I don't know where.
...BUHHT, we're allll OK!
[TRANSLATION: Tryin' to stay positive, although it hurts like hell.]
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Matrix-Buyer Demographics!
HOW WEIRD! HOW UNCANNY?!? And how unremarkable, really, but REALLY, it's this funny in an odd way!?! Check it out...
Buyer Demographics published for Toyota Matrix Buyers (that'd be me), from the J.D. Power Consumer Center website:
Favorite TV Shows**:
CSI (the Las Vegas version, of course!)Favorite Sports or Activities**:
Law & Order (SVU!)
Desperate Housewives (newly discovered source of laughter!)
Walking for Exercise (yuppers! - treadmill owner)
Gardening (indeed!)
Entertain at Home (love to!)
The only thing that could have made this any more perfect is if it had also included the TV show House, which we're now watching together every Tuesday night (which we've followed now, at best, um, for 2 episodes in a row?), and either Sewing or Furniture Refinishing (or both) in the 'Activities' listing.
Mind you, I'm not a big TV watcher, but if I were to follow any other shows than House, it'd be Law & Order: SVU (I used to occasionally catch it after I got home from a grad school night class) or CSI Las Vegas (I rarely catch this one, but when I do, me way likey). Post-car accident, my cousin Tyler's cutie-pie wife, Brianna, lent me her first season DVD set of Desperate Housewives, which it turns out, I juhhhst absolutely LOVE! Online last weekend, I watched the last four shows I'd missed... Mind you, once again, up until the Sunday night after our accident, in Brianna's home, I'd never ever even watched Desperate Housewives. . . so I've 'missed them' all, really. But back to the consumer research on Matrix owners.... how funny is that? Anywhoo... back to car shopping!
Why I Love Mah Sweet Honey-Man ~ Reason 1
Although this may be my first reason I'll post here, it's not to be confused with the 'number one' reason why I love mah honey-man... I could never narrow down my reasons to a "number one" anyhow...
Reason 1: Unless it's a serious situation (e.g. a group photo, a pose w/ the angel boy-O or a paid photo session), OR he's being threatened by me not to do it or else (which rarely works; who am I kidding?), my honey-man almost always sticks out a little bit of his pink tongue in almost every picture I take of him. I have countless pictures I could share to illustrate this habit of his. [BACKGROUND INFO: I just uploaded photos taken from over my last weekend in L.A., in which I found 3 such photos.] And although I scold him every time he does it? - - it totally cracks me up, how he'll pose, sans tongue, yet when I press the button to take the shot, he somehow manages to time it just right...
To be honest, I secretly love it when he pulls it off...
A New Personal Rule of Conduct - #3
I will no longer allow the automatic 'click and download purchase' capability feature on my iTunes. Never again.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Child Car Safety - Can't Take it for Granted
Ohh my guhooodness - this one makes me bawl. Considering my own recent accident, although our outcome was quite fortunate, any effort on my part now, to prevent or minimize the results of any future accident, I'm all over it... My honey-man's angel boy-O may be 8 years old, but he weighs under 55 lbs still.
On my things to do list for today: pricing for a Britax Regent car seat!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
I'd Sing 'Happy Birthday,' but I love him too much!
It's my lil' bro-bro's birthday today - he turned 18 years old...
*sigh*
Makes me feel OLD!
I've been thinking about my little 6' 8" tall brother all throughout the day, today, remembering him when he wore diapers and drooled and cooed, and when I taught him to sing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," by the Beatles (of course!) and songs by the Cure, and how he always pronounced my name with a distinct 'Z' sound... and how he would sprint down the basement hallway, as much as a 2 year old can 'sprint, giggling and shrieking with sheer delight, as I'd chase after him...
He was so cute! Still is, of course. Happy Birthday, Pizza-boy!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Self-Portrait Day, um, a day early ~ I Voted!
And yes, I'm trying to keep my eyes open in this shot...
Sunday, November 05, 2006
My "I Hit a Cow" Story, Part III: Who's Liable?
In the last week, each time I tell my "I hit a cow" story, invariably, people will ask me about my car and my insurance and who's liable for what, etc. etc.
As a recent anonymous commenter wrote, I was, indeed, driving in "open range" territory. [SIDE NOTE for 'Anonymous' from Colorado: Yes, lucky we were! I'd heard too about the very unfortunate older couple who had hit a cow, driving their Harley, and how terribly awful their experience was. I also heard there was another cow struck last week, before I hit mine, and that it happened on that very same road I was on, involving the same rancher's cattle, although I don't know the details with certainty. In dealing with the Sherriff's office after my accident, however, at no point did anyone warn nor tell me that I'd be liable for the cow. In fact, I was told more conflicting information, that because both sides of that hwy road are fenced, and that particular area may also be a 'herd district,' the owner of the cow is potentially liable because he had not maintained his fence line - ?!? - Either way, anyone would have to agree it's irrefutable that had the damn [other explitives removed] fence line been closed properly, there would never have been any cows on the road to hit. Am I liable for killing the cow? or anything at all? If I'm not liable, what about the rancher for not maintaining his fence? I dunno. Indeed, interesting points to ponder... END OF NOTE]
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the meaning of "open range," here's the Idaho state provision for your reading pleasure:
cow at midnight have more right to a highway than a person?"
asked Andy Kerr, director of the National Public Lands
Grazing Campaign,which is trying to get Congress to pay
ranchers to give up federal grazing permits."These laws have been on the books since before Henry Ford
invented the automobile. How fast could you go in a horse
and buggy? The law hasn't kept up with reality.
Open-range laws may have made sense in the 1800s,
but they don't make a lot of sense today," said Kerr.
My "I Hit a Cow" Story, Part II: Spontaneous Tears
Yesterday, I was at a baby shower for someone in my office - a very 'the cutest' preggers someone, who has lots and lots of friends and family, who all love and adore her. [Note to Self: Do not attend any more baby showers for the next year. My ovaries just can't handle it.] At some point near the shower's end, I overheard someone say to someone else, "She's the one who hit the cow," and once again, there I was with a group of people gathering around and looking at me, asking to hear my story. And so again, there I was, telling my story, and again, trying hard not to cry...
The word spread around my office rather quickly once my boss, at our dept. meeting held on Wednesday, made an opening announcement, stating that he wanted everyone to know and be thankful that I was still here, going on to briefly explain the 'highlight' of my Nevada Day-weekend vacation in Bear Lake Idaho. As people turned around in their chairs to look at me, my eyes welled up and my chin began to tremble as it hit me again: We could have been seriously injured - - we could have been killed.
After the baby shower last night, I went to the store to buy some things. Having wandered the store for nearly 45 minutes, not wanting to go home yet, I meandered over to the 'Personal Care' section to find my facial scrub of choice and go home. Having found it, I looked at the price and realized that it wasn't a matter of this store vs. another store - -over the last couple months, the price has gone up by $1.50, regardless of where I shop. For a moment, this bummed me out for an itty bit, just thinking about the sad subject of money in general - and then? I was struck absolutely dumb and I began to bawl in the middle of the aisle, clutching my stupid tube of facial goop, feeling overwhelmed by my idiocy, feeling so fortunate to even be there buying my ridiculous facial scrub.
I've had a lot of moments like that throughout the past week. On Thursday, alone, I think I burst into tears about 5 different times throughout the day. My general state could simply be described as 'teary.'
At any point, whenever I begin to feel sad or angry about my car and all the expenses I'm about to incur (about $4,500 = no joke), I think this: Better to be spending some money I do have, than to be planning a funeral.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Drivin' Again, Post-Cow Crash
Yesterday morning, my aunt Radeane offered her extra vehicle for my driving, seeing I'm without a car now. Until yesterday, I'd been bumming rides to and from work, so back behind the wheel again, once I made it to work, I was pleased with the morning's drive. It was technically fine = I made it to work. However, I was a bit paranoid throughout the entire drive, worrying that I'd either run over anyone in my blind spot or rear end someone, driving my aunt's big Ford Exploder SUV - - whoops, I mean Ford Explorer.
Driving home in the dark last night, I had NPR on the radio as I made my entrance onto the freeway. As I merged left from the on ramp to join the existing traffic, my heart began to race a bit. Telling myself that everything was juhhhst fine, trying to focus on the NPR after-work broadcast, nonetheless, I began to sweat. I knew what was happening and told myself, "There are no cows in Vegas, you silly. Relax." Regardless of sound reasoning and solid logic, my hands began to shake, and so I moved from the center hwy lane, back into the far right lane. I glanced down at the speedometer and saw that I was driving only 55 mph in a 65 zone - - and with that, I burst into tears and didn't stop crying until I was 'home,' standing in my aunt's kitchen.
This morning's drive was much better than yesterday's... wish me steady hands and dry eyes for tonight's drive home. And everybody, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! I'll be out and about, shopping for a car! ~ Wish me luck for that too!
And lastly, but not least, THANK YOU SO MUCH to EVERYONE for their sweet well wishes and their caring interest in my safe condition. As things did turn out okay - thank our lucky stars and all that is good in this world - in that no one was seriously hurt (with the exception of the poor cow, of course), I guess from now on, I'll always have a fantastic "I hit a cow" story to tell.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
UPDATED: Holy COW Crash - the night of
First of all, EVERYONE is okay. Yes, despite how awful my car looks, remarkably, we're all juhhst fine. My Gma Rae was sitting in the front passenger seat and and my cousin Tyler's wife, Brianna, was in the backseat with their 2 yr old strapped in a childseat behind me. My Grams had to be taken in for x-ray that night and watched over at home. Her entire chest is deeply bruised from the airbag's deployment and she's still terribly sore, but she doesn't have a single scratch. In fact, she'd been doing well enough that she was sure and able to see the hairdresser the very next day for a new shampoo set.
Brianna had some glass picked from her face, and just last Sunday night, a tiny sliver more was removed from her right ear. She was scratched the worst of us, with a good pair of 2-inch long, thin scratches on the right side of her cheek, up near her ear. Right before we'd hit the cow, she'd taken off her seat belt to comfort her baby who was crying - ?!? - I know, I know...we were really lucky that Brianna wasn't seriously injured. Not having her seat belt on, however, allowed her to shield her son and to also keep hold of her fluffy Chihuahua, Issy. The baby had only a few tiny scratches at his neckline and some light bruising about his clavicle area, caused by the strain of his child seat restraints. And Brianna's little Issy, although desperately in need of a bath later on, not unlike the rest of us, was totally unharmed.
On Saturday, the day after the accident, I went in to see the hospital for a spinal x-ray to be sure I was fracture-free, and then I was treated for very mild whiplash and general muscle strain. I have a lot of muscle soreness and neck pain, but nothing too terrible. Both of my knees are deeply bruised, as both my feet had lost contact with the floor upon impact, both legs folding upward, hitting the underside of the steering wheel. Other than that, I have 4 itty bitty, extremely minor cuts on my face - - that alone is amazing because the windshield was resting on my face, laying over my hands and arms when the car stopped!!! Even so, I have only a few scratches on my left hand from shoving the windshield off of me.
What happened is this: Last Friday on the 27th at 7:45 p.m., I was driving on a small 5 mile-long stretch of rural highway between two small towns in southeast Idaho in Bear Lake County. On either side of the road, there's pasture, but both sides are supposed to be fenced. At the beginning of a rather straight stretch of the hwy road, an oncoming car passed me without time to give any kind of flashing brights to warn me of anything. Once the car passed and my eyes had barely readjusted, immediately thereafter, there was barely enough time for me to see a big black cow standing straight ahead. I didn't even see its head or its feet or legs - - just a big, very broad and very black cow side, and we slammed into her at 70mph, before I could ever touch the breaks. It was so fast, my Gma Rae never saw it coming, nor did Brianna.
So immediately after the passing of that oncoming car, my eyes saw the cow for a mere split second. The only reason I recognized it to be a cow is the fact that I already knew we were in cattle country, and I'd seen before what the side of a deer looks like in headlights, and this thing was black and 3 times larger than any deer I'd ever seen = thus, it was a cow. It happened so fast, I don't remember even having a chance to scream. I do know though exactly how fast I was driving, as just a couple minutes before the accident, my Grams had complained I was driving too fast [SIDE NOTE: Frankly, any speed over 45 mph is too fast for her. It's true Grams and you know it!], and I assured her I was driving just 5 over the 65 mph speed limit, having set my cruise control. So yeah, driving 70 mph, I hit that damn cow without a chance scream or to even hit the brakes.
As the photos indicate: All in split second time, the cow ripped off the entire front side of the driver's fender and bent that same side of the front axle, rendering that front tire almost useless. The cow then went up over the hood of the car, and shattered and caved in the windshield, and then the cow broke through my side of the windshield, and then moved further upward, falling off from the side of my car's front roof, denting inward and partially collapsing the car's rooftop, also tearing off the driver's side mirror.
What the photos clearly show, but can't exactly explain: On impact, the cow's side split and exploded open, and once she'd slammed upward onto the hood and into the windshield, the windshield collapsed and a trap-like door-like opening was created in the windshield on my side, allowing very wet, hot and very heavy and super smelly cow shit and cow stomach contents to funnel into the car, in a manner reminiscent of a salad shooter - - I had about 60 lbs of it on my lap alone. In fact, once the car had stopped moving, the wet heaviness and the steaming heat of all that crap on my lap, coupled with the firm resistance of my airbag, I thought I had a cow's head in my lap, and it was in that first moment when we'd stopped moving, not knowing what was on me, I nearly lost my cool - - although it was a no-brainer, determining what I had in my mouth. I think I spit and screamed for no more than 5 seconds, something along the lines of "I dunno what this is, I gotta get this off me, get me outta here," buhht quickly realized my screaming wouldn't help anyone.
Instead, I had to shove the windshield off me, and then I fumbled for the car's hazard lights and set the emergency brake. By that time, my Grams was able to crack her door open, engaging the car's interior light. We all began to frantically yell at one another, asking each other if everyone was okay - - any broken bones? any heavy bleeding? We all had cow shit in our hair and in our mouths, but that was really the very worst of it. Brianna called my aunt Brenda on her cell, who I'd spoken to only 2 minutes earlier, as later verified on her caller ID log, and Brianna told her we'd been in a car accident and to come quick. At the time, Brianna didn't tell Brenda how it had happened, but made it clear that we were all well enough that no ambulance was needed. Thereafter, all stuck in the car together, although I'm sure we were all in shock and a bit deliriously so, we actually began to joke around:
Me: Grandma, you got shit in your hair. You're gunna have to get a new shampoo set. [All of us then laughing together, knowing how particular she is about her hair, seeing her with the equivalent of a cow pie on the side of her head.]
Brianna: Well, now you can get your gray interior, Ang. [Referring to an earlier convo we'd had in the car while driving that night, about my Matrix and how much I liked it, and how if I had to do it over again, I'd change nothing except its black interior; that I'd prefer gray or beige.]
Me: The shit has really hit the ceiling. [Note the obvious photos included further below]
Grams: I dunno if I shit my pants or peed them! [My Grams is so small, she had lifted up and forward in her seat, enough so, the cow crap had landed behind her, so that she wound up sitting in it.]
The laughter wore off quickly though, as our surroundings sank in. We had to get out of that car. My Grams, with a 2nd adrenaline rush kicking in, bailed out her door, falling down into the bar pit. She had to crawl up and out from it, around to the back of the car. At the very same time, we realized 2 different cars of people had stopped to help us, including the car that had passed us just before the crash. Later on, once I had been pulled from the car, they told me how they had actually heard us hit the cow immediately after they had passed me, and that they had not seen that cow themselves until they were actually passing it, one second before I hit it head on. And another fellow and his family who had stopped to help, who actually got me out of the car, all said they'd seen the cows long before I hit one, but had returned to help move the cattle off the road, not realizing one had been hit until they drove up to it, lying dead in the middle of the road.
It was amazing how many people stopped to help. The first man at the scene, Jerry, who helped me get out, he gave jackets to Brianna and my Grams, and a woman, Katie (you can see the back of her blonde head in a couple shots), she gave us blankets from her car to keep us warm and helped to unload our things from my car. She even dug in the backseat to help find my cow-crap-laden purse.
The police were awesome and showed up 2 minutes after they'd been called. Also, my uncle Trent's boys, Tanner and Thayne, who could see from their home the lights of my flashers and the stopped cars on the hwy road, guessed right that someone had hit a cow (the second one that week), and they drove up the road from their house to check, showing up right after the 2 other cars that had stopped first. As Thayne and Tanner pulled alongside my car, I turned around and Tanner saw me first - - I think his eyes about popped out of his head, realizing it was his Las Vegas cousin who'd hit the cow they'd seen lying in the road, who's car was smashed, who had blood and shit smeared all over her face and in her hair. And shortly after the boys came, my aunt Brenda and uncle Kevin arrived in separate cars within 10 minutes... they'd been delayed some; my aunt Brenda was pulled over by the police for driving too fast through town, on her way to see us. It was then that she found out we'd hit a cow, as the policeman who'd pulled her over said he'd heard the report.
Just how lucky were we? - A very seasoned sheriff's deputy told us that night that if I'd seen the cow any earlier and had I tried to brake or swerve first, we would have probably lost our straight arrow trajectory, and would have gone right off the road, flying off into the deep bar pit, and we would have rolled at least twice - and we probably would have hit the cow anyhow... and we probably wouldn't have been able to walk away from an accident like that. But who knows...
What we do know is that I'd stopped the car just 4-6 inches from losing the car's balance and going off the road = any further and we would have had only one tire in contact with the road, which would have caused us to roll down into the bar pit. Also, past the point of impact, we could see where I hit the brakes, and that it took several feet before we came to a stop. Having not been able to brake before impact, and having lost contact with the foot pedals post-impact, I had hard time trying to secure my foot to the brake with all the shit piling in over my feet and the car floor. As for my steering, I tried as hard as I could to maintain a solid grip on the steering wheel, remembering the road was straight, trying hard to keep the steering wheel straight against the rightside pull created by the braking of my one good front tire. And couldn't see a thing!!! Nothing! My hair was plastered across my face with all the crap in it and in my mouth, and the airbag was up and the windshield was pushed in on my hands and arms, its bottom edge resting on the upper bridge of my nose! Once I stopped, the back driver's tire was clear off the ground by nearly 2 inches and the car was high centered, the front end tilted down towards the bar pit. The pictures totally fail to show just how slanted the car was and how deep the bar pit is... Anyone who tried to come around to that side of the car wound up standing only one-head above the base of the car door's frame.
And that poor damn cow: Once I was pulled out of the car and checked over by a policeman, I was coherent enough to not only take a gazillion photos of the scene, but to first locate flashlights in my car trunk and run off with Jerry down the road, in an effort to prevent others from hitting the cow I'd killed or any of the other cows out loose on the highway. We do know the owner of the cow was Dennis Hunzeker, by checking the ear tag, and we had several witnesses give their info. to the police. People who'd stopped and one of the sherriff's deputies helped haul the cow from the middle to the side of the road. We were later told that night and several times since then that it wasn't the first time the Hunzekers have failed to keep up their fence lines. The next morning, driving over to the accident site, in fact, one of the Hunzeker boys was out repairing the 10 ft wide gap they'd deliberately left open in their fence line. Yes, deliberately.
here and Part IV here , Part V here and Part VI here,
here and HERE and Part VII, the NOT so final word re: liability right here ...
Holy CAR Crash! - the day after
This is my Matrix, pictures taken yesterday.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
6 lbs of Preciousness
I'm in Utah right now - - enjoying my friend Suzanne's latest addition to the family. . .
Do you hear that?
Do you hear that sound?
It's me - it's my ovaries, screaming.
Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be leaving SLC for family time in Bear Lake and more babies. . . I apologize for the noise...
I won't be back to Vegas until Halloween night ~
