This evening someone lost a section of exhaust pipe on a busy avenue in my little town.
They left it there, which happened to become my lane, and the Universe declared that at that very moment when I had decided to straddle the hunk of metal with my low-riding ol' 1992 Civic, that an SUV would pass me on the left, giving me no other choice then to roll over the metal, clipping it with my tire and shooting it straight into my gas tank, where it smartly tore a 4 inch gash. I cursed, then apologized to the boys, whose anything but virgin ears at the receiving end of a frequently frazzled parent, did not flinch, but accepted the apology.
I was sure the tire had been burst, but no, no loss of control or *pop* or swerving, but wow there had been an impressive impact somewhere, and I realized in about 5 more seconds that it had impressively impaled the fuel tank, and with the smell of gas filling the car I rolled down the windows and Samson shouted, "No - I like that smell!"
As it were, I was seconds from the intersection that would lead me into "Super" Wal-mart's lot, and, as it were, I hit the yellow light. I opened my door to see $40 of the freshly filled gas gushing out into traffic like, well, like gushing water. I turned left, the needle slipping down down into slumber, reminding me of the scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when they are trapped without parachutes in an airplane over the Himalayas, and the fuel tank is draining, the pilots jumped, and chickens in the background. It was a similar scene today.
I got the boys out - Mercury was with a friend riding horses - and subtly cried, telling some teenagers retrieving carts what had happened and they will need "alot of sand." There was nothing to be done about the gasoline - anything I may have had to catch it was in the trunk, which was now impossible to reach without standing in a puddle of gas - didn't seem prudent to me. In hindsight, I should have called the fire department, but I was upset and shocked and angry, and I thought sand would do it all over nicely. We went in the store and used the restrooms, got some crackers, and met up with my friend who had Mercury and agreed to take us home. She informed me of the scene outside - quite a scene for our quaint town. . .
Two fire engines and a police vehicle surrounded my car and about ten officials were perusing the parameters apparently looking for clues or something. It topped my embarrassment over parking in a large mud-pit Saturday night at the infamous Carter Family Fold, thinking (in the rain and dark) that it was gravel. Four grown men ended up with some European style mud treatments that night. I told each one specifically that I had never been stuck in snow or mud, and never had run out of gas in my life. For this I was proud. Mercury informed me tonight that now, I have officially been stuck in the mud AND ran out of gas. Funny girl.
The worst - since it was a full tank of gas - the EPA was called, from 2 hours away, to cleanup the mess and forward me the bill, since it was 'my fault'. Somewhere in the range of $2500 or better. We'll see, we'll see.
So, is this Divine intervention to steer me away from leaving, or a test of Faith in that I should just relax and be thankful that we didn't blow up, or anyone else didn't blow up while we dazed around Wally World looking at the plastic fantastics? And how about my external hard-drive being corrupt last night? About 20,000 photos gone or unable to open, and my frail frail iBook let me know this morning that my startup disk is full - but I dare not transfer it to the external HD for fear of losing all this, too. I freaked out, for about 5 minutes. . .
Then I was humbled and quieted and reassured as I drew near to the Truth that we are All alright - the solar panels may need to wait, my new job today will need to wait or I'll lose it and gain another means, my car may need to wait, and maybe I. . .need to wait, be still, and know all the peace and strength and moments of truth will come when ready. . .maybe, and when I write 'maybe', I mean absolutely, that this was a Humbling, a Blessing, a benign exercise, a test and encouragement of Trust, and I am utterly thankful and, even with a big ol' bill coming in the mail that will be at least 5 times the cost of my car, I can honestly say, no, no, no one thing, no one accident, no one will keep me off my path, and I am glad for the drill.
Thanks EPA for making it so difficult, for rising the stress levels, because, like aerobic exercise, you only get stronger when you are stressed. . .
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