R.I.P. .....Almost

Most accidents occur within five miles of home. Oh, I've heard that old cliche over and over again through the years. Well an hour ago, it almost came true for hubby and I. In fact, we are incredibly grateful to be alive and well this hour. You see, we came extremely close to having a very serious head on accident one mile from our home through absolutely no fault of our own. Today we drove to Kona and back, quite a distance. But only one mile from home, it was near tragedy. 

A tourist used very, very bad judgement by making a u-turn right where our road meets the highway. The intersection is on a blind curve, so it's dangerous just turning at that location, never mind making a u-ey. And as fate would have it, in a downpour, a SUV came around the turn in our direction. We had stopped to make our left onto our street and watched in horror as the tourist proceeded to pull his u-ey. In a flash we were aghast to see the SUV swerve to avoid the tourist and come right at us head on. Head on! In a split second the driver then again swerved to avoid us, missing us by an inch if even that, and shoot past us on the rain slick muddy side of the road. How that driver not only missed two cars in his path but also a telephone pole, a tree, and a rock wall & fence is nothing short of miraculous. And he maintained control, heading back onto the highway to avoid a ditch, across two lanes, coming to rest on the opposite shoulder. Thank heaven there were no cars behind us or surely he would have had to hit something. He somehow didn't skid out on the mud, nor on this section of highway notorious for being quite slick in the rain, skid out at all. Yes, there have been dozens and dozens of cars in the past that have spun out of control due to the slick pavement here.

When we saw the SUV heading right for us, we little time to prepare for impact. I was certain the head on inevitable. I pulled my feet up against the base of my seat, tucked my elbows in, and sat back against the sit. Couldn't think of anything else to do. Hubby took his foot off the break hoping that being pushed back by the impact would somehow lessen the severity of the collision. We had both looked at the tourist prior to seeing the SUV and noted the color and make of the car, but didn't have time to note the license plate. SUVs bearing down on you have the ability to distract one from such a task. 

After the SUV came to a stop, we immediately pulled off the road and went back to check on the driver and occupants. Thankfully they said that they were fine, though shaken, and proceeded to check their vehicle, which turned out to be undamaged. Meanwhile, the incredibly stupid tourist cowardly drove away not even bothering to see if anyone was injured. I was prepared to barrel after them if our SUV heroes  had been hurt or damaged, but since all seemed to have survive unscathed, none of us thought that chasing those tourists down in the rain was a good idea. 

One never knows when something like this will happen. You can be doing nothing wrong but still end up dead or so injured that your life is changed forever. This incident is a prime example of why I live my life for NOW. I'm often asked why I retired young. Why we didn't wait to make our move. This is why. You never know when you're going to die or not be able to live your dream. 

Oh, life is so sweet tonight. I'm incredibly happy to be alive and well.