Remembering the Accident

I finally brought the disposable camera that was with me during the car accident in to Walmart and got the pictures developed. (To read about the accident Lin and I had on the way to TFA Institute, click here.) And so, here they are... Lin and I in front of my 52-hour car at a rest stop, ready to drive to Houston and learn to teach some children. Lin, just after the crash, massaging his bruises and he stands, stunned, beside the car. Note the airbags, the placement of the car, and finally, in the last picture, the crushed front end of my car.





I still am a little skittish in cars. I didn't think I was until M-- slammed on the brakes about a week ago when I was in the car and suddenly I could smell that awful airbag smell and feel the way my face felt -- crushed and numb -- just after the crash. It just all flooded back: the taste in my mouth (blood and airbag and the aftertaste of the fried shrimp lunch from Long John Silver's); the beat of my heart, loud and fast... But especially that feeling in my face (like I'd been punched in the mouth and the nose), and that smell of airbag. The awful, awful smell of airbag. And I can't close my eyes in a car anymore (especially if I'm in the front) without a vague feeling of unease. Anyhow.

It really is a miracle that nobody was seriously hurt and the only possession Lin and I lost was the car itself. We were very lucky. Wear seatbelts. Drive defensively.