A Day I'll Never Forget
Most of my blog posts feature unforgettable memories, however most of these memories are unforgettable because of the positive emotions they provoke in me. Looking back at them fills me once again with happiness, joy, and sometimes, love. Despite this, there come unforgettable moments in our life that we wish we could forget and not have to deal with the consequences of. The memory I'm about to describe is one of those times I sometimes wish I could erase. However, now that I've had time to heal and mentally process what happened, I can find the good that came out of this traumatic experience.
The event that I am referring to happened the same day as the enjoyable bike ride with my Mom that I described in my last post. August 11th. A date I probably won't look at the same again. It was a rainy day, and although it poured and poured, I don't think many people thought too much of it or the havoc that mother nature would cause.
It was just after 7:30pm when I got in my car to head back home from one of my internships. Within 10 minutes, I was driving through water that reminded me of a river. It seemed to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden I was looking around and hardly saw anyone. I wanted to pull off the road, but it seemed as if there was nowhere to go. I was moving slowly and carefully just trying to get somewhere. And that's when a big truck, that had just gotten off the freeway, came flying by me on the other side and sent a wave over my car. And I stopped. My car wouldn't move anymore, but it was still running. My heart was beating fast and I dialed my Mom's cell phone number as quickly as I could and sat there in the driver's seat with my hazards on. My phone wasn't working very good, however, probably do to the fact that I was surrounded by water. The fortunate thing was I didn't even have time to think of an escape plan. Before I knew it two guys had pulled up next to me and had thought of one for me. I was saved.
I talked to my Mom on the phone before getting out of the car. The two guys then proceeded to help me into their pickup. I had to get on the bed of their pickup, then onto the roof, and into their truck. That is something I hope to never have to do again! Then the guys tied straps onto my car and towed it into a parking lot, which was also flooded. Once my car was safely in the parking lot, one of the guy's let me hang out his back as he waded towards my driver's side door. I waited, shivering all the while, for my dad to get there with his truck to pick me up and bring me home.
It was probably at least two hours after I had gotten stuck till I got home. I'd like to add that I live about 15 minutes from the place I was interning at and had made it probably almost halfway home. My dad and I didn't leave right when he got there, though. My dad messed with the car and tried to get it to start. When he did get it to start, however, it was making a weird noise, so we left it there. And then headed back. The way back was pretty spooky. Power was out in some areas, people walked along the streets. It was obvious these people had gotten stuck as well and were trying to get to safety. It felt like I was in an apocalypse. Were zombies going to come out all of a sudden?
Needless to say, I cried a lot that night. I hadn't cried when it happened, nor while I sat alone, my feet in water on the driver's side floor mat waiting for my Dad, but when I was home safe and my brain had processed what had happened. I cried and cried and cried. I felt guilty for what had happened. I felt angry at myself for letting it happened. But, then I realized how fortunate I was. I didn't have a single injury. I was in the warmth of my own home (which thankfully hadn't flooded!) and most of all, I was safe.
The news was filled with stories in the days and nights that followed. The worst of it had occurred on the freeway, which thankfully I wasn't on. Tons of homes had their basements flooded, people had gotten hurt, and it seemed as though there was a sense of chaos in the air as areas dealt with the aftermath of crazy flooding. There were so many cars that had gotten stuck for instance that it took two days for me to even get my car towed! The picture below is one that my dad took when he met the tow truck driver in the parking lot and gave him the keys. My dad said my car smelled bad from the water that had gotten inside and that the water were steamed up. But outside of that, you wouldn't have known it had been through a horrific flood, other than the fact that internally, my car would never be the same.
And it never will be the same and it will never be mine again. The end result has been finally been reached, after a month of dealing with our insurance company. My car is in a salvage yard and has been totaled out. So, financially we have been blessed with compensation for what happened, but mentally I don't think any of us who dealt with the trauma of the flood that night will ever be the same. But instead of thinking of the negatives of that night, I instead try to think of all that I am grateful for. I obviously had something looking out for me that night, a guardian angel looking over my shoulder and keeping my safe. I also wish I could have thanked the two guys more for rescuing me, but I was such a state of shock that hardly any words came out of my mouth and I wasn't able to thank them enough for their help. And to my parents, who dealt with my emotional instability, as well as the month-long claim process that resulted from the flood incident, I am forever grateful.
Despite how traumatic my experience was, it could have been much worse. And I have learned amazing lessons from all this. And I have learned how important it is as well to offer help to those who need it. After all, I don't know what I would have done without people to rescue me from the flood and family to call to get a ride home. August 11th, you were a day I'll never forget that is for sure. A day I lost my first car, learned new lessons, and reevaluated what is important in the world and realized just how far random acts of kindness can go.
The event that I am referring to happened the same day as the enjoyable bike ride with my Mom that I described in my last post. August 11th. A date I probably won't look at the same again. It was a rainy day, and although it poured and poured, I don't think many people thought too much of it or the havoc that mother nature would cause.
It was just after 7:30pm when I got in my car to head back home from one of my internships. Within 10 minutes, I was driving through water that reminded me of a river. It seemed to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden I was looking around and hardly saw anyone. I wanted to pull off the road, but it seemed as if there was nowhere to go. I was moving slowly and carefully just trying to get somewhere. And that's when a big truck, that had just gotten off the freeway, came flying by me on the other side and sent a wave over my car. And I stopped. My car wouldn't move anymore, but it was still running. My heart was beating fast and I dialed my Mom's cell phone number as quickly as I could and sat there in the driver's seat with my hazards on. My phone wasn't working very good, however, probably do to the fact that I was surrounded by water. The fortunate thing was I didn't even have time to think of an escape plan. Before I knew it two guys had pulled up next to me and had thought of one for me. I was saved.
I talked to my Mom on the phone before getting out of the car. The two guys then proceeded to help me into their pickup. I had to get on the bed of their pickup, then onto the roof, and into their truck. That is something I hope to never have to do again! Then the guys tied straps onto my car and towed it into a parking lot, which was also flooded. Once my car was safely in the parking lot, one of the guy's let me hang out his back as he waded towards my driver's side door. I waited, shivering all the while, for my dad to get there with his truck to pick me up and bring me home.
It was probably at least two hours after I had gotten stuck till I got home. I'd like to add that I live about 15 minutes from the place I was interning at and had made it probably almost halfway home. My dad and I didn't leave right when he got there, though. My dad messed with the car and tried to get it to start. When he did get it to start, however, it was making a weird noise, so we left it there. And then headed back. The way back was pretty spooky. Power was out in some areas, people walked along the streets. It was obvious these people had gotten stuck as well and were trying to get to safety. It felt like I was in an apocalypse. Were zombies going to come out all of a sudden?
Needless to say, I cried a lot that night. I hadn't cried when it happened, nor while I sat alone, my feet in water on the driver's side floor mat waiting for my Dad, but when I was home safe and my brain had processed what had happened. I cried and cried and cried. I felt guilty for what had happened. I felt angry at myself for letting it happened. But, then I realized how fortunate I was. I didn't have a single injury. I was in the warmth of my own home (which thankfully hadn't flooded!) and most of all, I was safe.
The news was filled with stories in the days and nights that followed. The worst of it had occurred on the freeway, which thankfully I wasn't on. Tons of homes had their basements flooded, people had gotten hurt, and it seemed as though there was a sense of chaos in the air as areas dealt with the aftermath of crazy flooding. There were so many cars that had gotten stuck for instance that it took two days for me to even get my car towed! The picture below is one that my dad took when he met the tow truck driver in the parking lot and gave him the keys. My dad said my car smelled bad from the water that had gotten inside and that the water were steamed up. But outside of that, you wouldn't have known it had been through a horrific flood, other than the fact that internally, my car would never be the same.
Despite how traumatic my experience was, it could have been much worse. And I have learned amazing lessons from all this. And I have learned how important it is as well to offer help to those who need it. After all, I don't know what I would have done without people to rescue me from the flood and family to call to get a ride home. August 11th, you were a day I'll never forget that is for sure. A day I lost my first car, learned new lessons, and reevaluated what is important in the world and realized just how far random acts of kindness can go.
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