Secret Asian Man- God Is My Insurance Carrier

At dusk the other day, I was driving down the Jordanian motorway.  Three of the four cars in front of me had no working tail or brake lights. I had no warning when they were slowing.  They’d just loom closer.  

The same motorway a few weeks ago, I rapidly came up on a goat-laden pickup backing up toward me. No reverse lights functioning of course. Maybe the goats chewed through the wires.

I’ve seen a several toddlers standing on their parents’ shoulders with their heads poking out of the sun roof at speed.  Arms and hair flapping in the wind

We were in a fender bender in a roundabout. There were lots of cars moving real slow and suddenly, THUMP!  We were hit! The driver was a complete gentleman. He apologized and said he got distracted by his toddler who jumped from the back seat to the front seat.  

“I needed to catch him and I got distracted. My foot lifted off the brake.”

I greatly wanted to ask him if he knew of a way to prevent this.  If he knew that his Cadillac Escalade had straps, likely wedged deep between the seat cushions, which could be used either alone or with a special chair, as a restraint against jumping toddlers in moving cars. I feared my point would be lost. My car sustained no damage. His would require some pretty extensive repair.

Predestination is a tenet belief in these parts. It is the idea that on the day that you are born, the day of your death is already known. It is kept in a book in God’s vest pocket along with a pocket watch. Nothing you do during life can change this day. When it's your time, it's your time. This, I believe, is how many people live their lives.

Given this knowledge why would I replace my taillight bulb? Why would I pull my toddler in from the sunroof? My concern for safety has no bearing on my death or that of others. I am freed of personal responsibility. 

I thought of this freedom when, not far from where my fender bender occurred, I saw a man in a wheelchair, rolling down the middle of 3 or 4 lanes of traffic. His arms a-whir as he tried to match the speed of the cars. He was a double amputee.  

Did he wake that morning, like he did most mornings, and think.  “God, done took my legs, I just don’t think today’s my day to die!”? 

And then he wheeled off down the road.

Dramamine

This is a testimonial to the value of modern chemistry.  Dramamine is a godsend. And, here is why.

After our Trauma First Aid class we were sent over the hill to the local Motor Speedway for a day and a half of safety and evasive driving.   This class was a total blast!

Riding around in old police cruisers (Crown Victorias) we wore helmets which should tell you something.  We skidded.  We learned to get out of skids.  We stopped… hard. Without hitting cones…. mostly.  We slalomed and we mostly stayed on the road.  The photo above is kind of how we looked.  ;) Though there was more Cooter and no Daisy Duke. 

On the second day, we did most of the same things, only in reverse.  We backed through slaloms.  We skidded a bit.  Then we had to do it all in traffic.  All the other students skidding and backing up in a bit of a traffic concert.

Oh, and we rammed! Yes, rammed.  Other cars.  They lined up some junked, but still functional cars and we took turns ramming through a road block.  I could not help but fantasize about the mall parking lots at Christmas time.  This was awesome.

After lunch we put it all together.  We faked out baddies sneaking up behind us, baddies sneaking up in front of us and baddies in their roadblocks.  Baddies, everywhere!

So, where does the Dramamine come in?

This class was a blast to drive, but I believe there is a reason the car was lined in plastic.  Sloshing around in the back of this car while our teacher or other students drove was truly a nauseating experience.  It was all I could do to keep my lunch down and I'm not usually one to get ill.   Eventually I had to be left off at a shelter house.  “The Barfzebo”, they called it.  I wasn't alone.  There was a handful of green souls sitting out for a while.

With motion sickness pills on the second day, though, I was totally able to out ride the bad guys without tossing my cookies.