the bluebee

Since I've got nothing going on to report as of late....I thought I would share the misfortune my "college car" met with this past summer.
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Ah. My Neon. It was such a trooper. It brought my daughter home from the hospital. It brought my son home from the hospital, too. *sniffle*

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It was a good car. But, it was a small car. So we bought a bigger one. A way bigger one. And the Bluebee, as my kids called it, became my husband's driving-to-work-car. Good mileage. You know the bit.

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One fateful weekend, we decided to make a quick weekend trip to my parent's place. The Bluebee was parked in the street, and as we backed out of the driveway, my husband suggested we move it into the drive. "Nah," I said, "We'll only be gone two days. It would have sat there anyhow. Let's get this show on the road!"

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So we went. Had a blast. And then on the drive home, my cell phone rang. My neighbor was calling. (He's 82. I don't normally get calls from him.) There's been an accident. Your car has been hit. Just wanted you to know so it isn't a total surprise when you get home. (They always know when we are gone. Or home. They know everything. About everyone.)

When we got home, this is what we saw:

There was a note on our door. The police had been trying to contact us, and we were to call them upon returning home.

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We called. They were sending someone.

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We all went to inspect the damage. Our presence sent several neighbors out to fill us in. Early that morning...as in 3 am-ish, a young, inebriated girl had crossed the center line, struck our car, veered back out into the road, swerved back further over the center line into the yard of the home two doors down. She was finally brought to a halt by a large tree in their yard.

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It didn't stop her completely, because she tried to reverse and get out of their yard, driving large ruts into their front yard. Of course the noise of all this awoke several people on our street, and the police were on the scene in mere moments. She tried to run. Unsuccessfully.

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This was all retold to us by our neighbors.

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My heart broke for the girl. For her parents. Thank goodness she wasn't hurt, and thank God no one else was physically harmed either.

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The police officer arrived to get our information. Insurance. Etc. He gave us her information so that we could start the process of fixing, or totalling, our car. I asked how the girl was doing.

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"She's not nice." the officer responded. She had spit on one of the arresting officers. We were mailed a copy of the police reports, since we were "victims." She really gave them a run for their money. Naughty thing.

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I'm hoping that she turns out okay. Hopefully this was a wake up call for her.

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Shortly thereafter, a nice man from Progressive came and cut us a check for our totalled Neon. A few days later, the tow truck came to take away the Bluebee. My kids and I watched from our front steps. They cried.

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It was a strange time. The end of an era? No, I suppose not. But definitely a learning experience for many, I'm sure.