Drive carefully --- or this could be you

Unsafe Driving... - Celebrity bloopers here

I think of my friend Jennifer, paralyzed from the waist down on her first date on her 16th birthday.

I think of that icy night when I started tapping the brakes because the light ahead was red....and my car did not slow down at all. I went through the intersection, somehow being missed by cars coming from both directions. One just missed hitting me on the back, the other on the front.

I think of that night I was heading to a dress rehearsal for a wedding. I pulled onto the exit, only to discover that the semi in front of me had suddenly lurched to a stop. I slammed on the brakes, but the front of my car went beneath the trailer. I instinctively ducked down and lay flat on the front seat, convinced impact was imminent. My car stopped with the edge of the trailer about 2 feet from my windshield. Two woman had stopped on the ramp to pull out a map because they were lost.

I think of my friend Monica, who was killed in a blizzard two days before Christmas as she was driving home to suburban Tulsa. Her car skidded across a median into the path of a semi. It took rescue personnel an hour to cut her out of her car, and she died at the hospital.

I think of my cousin Greg's wife, Jennifer, who was killed as they were driving through a snow storm in Minnesota. They came over a hill in poor visibility, and their car was sheared in half when it struck the edge of a semi trailer that had jacknifed in the storm.

I think of all the stories I have written over the years about people who were killed in auto accidents --- and the devastated loved ones they left behind. Many were as a result of carelessness...but some were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Be careful out there. It CAN happen to you....or someone you love.

I'm back

It's been more than two months since I last blogged. The day after my last post appeared, I was rear-ended on my way to City Hall for a police briefing.

The man who hit me never touched his brakes. I was fortunate to end up with only a nasty case of whiplash to my neck, back and pelvis. No broken bones, no organ damage. It could so easily have been much worse.

My car was totaled, however, so while I was recovering at home I spent a lot of time perusing the Internet for research on cars.

I hate car shopping. A nagging fear chews on me that no matter what I get or how much I pay, I could have gotten a better car for less -- somewhere, somehow.

It took me  about 6 weeks to settle on a car - a used Honda Accord - and I'm pretty happy with it...so I guess the process was worthwhile.

I'm still doing rehab on my back and neck, and I'm still (as one friend put it this week) on "the dancing DL" -- that's baseball parlance for 'disabled list.'

But I'm making good progress, and, again, I feel most fortunate that it wasn't more serious.

I stayed away from blogging just to give my back a break from the keyboard, but I hope to resume regular posts now.

To all my friends who offered prayers and hands-on support, I am most grateful.