I went into town yesterday to run a few errands and grab some groceries. I managed to end up in downtown at the end of the lunch hour time. I was heading for the packaging supply store when I was approaching one of our busiest intersections. The light was green so I quickly glanced both ways just before I went through -- I say 'quickly glanced' because the light was green but that doesn't mean someone may not be trying to make a fast "right on red" turn.
Everything was fine as I started into the intersection. I was half-way through when a big, long black pick-up came barreling through the red light, most definitely over the speed limit even if he had had a green light.  I slammed on my brakes, praying quickly that they took hold because just a little while earlier my brake light had flashed (they did). Everyone around me began to hit their brakes.... the people behind me.... the people behind them..... the people on the opposite side, as everyone sitting at the red light sat and stared in astonishment.
And what did that black pick-up do...... HE SLAMMED ON HIS BRAKES!!   What an i d i o t ! ! ! ! No, he doesn't go on through and clear the intersection, he has to stop right in front of me  . My brake is all the way down as I am hoping and praying hard that I don't crash into him, or at least not too hard, because it looked like there was going to be no way to avoid it  . The back end of his pick-up fish tailed towards me...... that's it, I knew then that I was going to hit him, and probably hard..... we were only inches away at this point. I pumped the break harder, pressing down with all my might, and tightened my grip on the steering wheel (which, I am sure, wasn't the thing go do) as I leaned my head further back to put more space between me and the wheel/dash/windshield. (Oh, the number of things that can go through your mind in split seconds!! ). Just as I knew we were going to hit, his truck bed unexpectedly took a BIG swing away from me! And then everyone was stopped....me just an inch or so from the pick-up bed. It must have took all my angel's strength to pull that truck over out of the way....... or I am blessed with several angels, which still had to be strong.
AMAZINGLY no contact was made with any vehicles! All traffic was stopped.... everyone sat there stunned for a brief moment..... then...... the guy in the pick-up sped off!!  leaving the rest of us sitting there with our mouth dropped, still too stunned to move. We all shook our heads, looked at each other in disbelief, looked away at the truck quickly disappearing in the distance, then I moved on through the intersection and traffic resumed. The police station was only a couple of blocks away, on that same street, but none passed by right then. (either that or they didn't feel like working and stayed out of sight)
This all happened in a matter of seconds. It is unbelievable how much can happen and how much can go through our minds in such a very short span of time. And sometimes, just a brief moment like that can totally change a life forever. We take far too many every day things for granted. I was truly blessed yesterday.  Throughout it all, the one thing I was praying hardest for was 'no heart attack.' The heart attack I had last February was triggered by a bad scare. Yesterday, as the fear (of crashing) crept into my body and my chest began to tighten and cramp I was also praying that I didn't have another heart attack while taking very controlled, deep breaths. I knew that if I didn't stay calm, regardless of what happened, those chest cramps would turn into something much worse. I continued my deep breathing all the way to the packaging store. I decided I needed to keep on moving instead of sitting still somewhere letting it sink in, and hoped that was right. I also figured I needed to get immediately to where people that knew me were in case something did happen. I was shaky all afternoon and slight pain for a couple of hours, but it steadily improved until by evening I felt fine again, just really tired. Talking to a friend on the phone helped me relax the most. People, if you have a bad scare, talk to someone, via phone or in person. The healthiest of people, of ANY age can be scared into a heart attack. DON'T worry about being shaky and stammering around, TALK TO SOMEONE and calm down as soon as possible. Your life could depend on it.
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