I absolutely love it when it rains. I love the way it smells, the sounds it makes, and the way it looks when it's just pouring outside. I love it when it comes with thunder at lightning, too. However, I can only really enjoy it if I'm at home and I don't have to go anywhere anytime soon. And not just because it gives me a chance to snuggle up next to my husband as the flash of lightening and clap of thunder startle us from our television trance, although that is a big contributer. Fact of the matter is, I can only really enjoy it if I'm stuck in our apartment because I absolutely HATE driving in the rain. I don't mean driving in a small drizzle either. I mean driving in the monsoon of a rainstorm where your visibility is cut in half, at least.
I used to not mind driving in the rain. I could handle getting on the freeway with my wiper blades moving 100 miles an hour. It didn't bother me when semi-trucks would be doing a good 70 beside me and splash a flood on my windshield. All of that changed, however, a few years ago when I was on my way to work.
It was an early, rainy morning. Traffic, of course, is slow because there happened to be a wreck on the freeway due to the rain (imagine that!). I'm sitting in my car listening to the radio and periodically looking at the clock hoping that traffic will pick up the pace a little bit so I can make it in on time. But no, traffic is at a dead stop.
Now, I'm on a two-lane freeway, meaning two-lanes going north and two-lanes going south. I'm sitting in the left lane, which is closest to the opposing traffic. So as I am sitting in my car cursing at the wreckage a mile up the road, I see a semi-truck driving a little fast in the opposite direction. I didn't think much of it until I realized that this semi-truck is driving a little fast in my lane. It's trailer is swinging back and forth, and I see cars in its path being crushed and scattered in every direction.
My heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest. I can't move anywhere! I just see this massive vehicle out of control in my lane heading towards me. And all I can do is just sit there. I can't drive anywhere. There's traffic to my right and a barrier on my left. I can't get out of the car. If that semi is out of control, it would be sure to hit me even if I tried running the other way. So I sit there and await my fate.
Someone up there must have been looking out for me because the semi, at what seemed to have been the last moment before I would have hit my car, completely jack-knived and rolled over into the grassy hill that is on the right side of the freeway. It was literally two cars away from colliding into my car. I couldn't believe it! I send countless thanks to God over and over again. Then I call 911 to make sure they knew about the incident. Of course, I was told they had received several calls about the truck and they would have someone out there shortly.
When I stopped shaking and traffic started moving again, I continued on my way to work. I never heard if anyone killed in that incident. I checked newspapers, blogs, news reports, internet searches, everything and I couldn't find anything. If no one had been killed, then that was a lucky day for everyone. But it left me with an overly cautious, paranoid feeling every time I drive and it's pouring rain. Knowing that if that semi didn't jack-knife and roll over, I might not be here today. Just another close call to add to my list.
