The Life Idiotic

I'd like to enthuse - or even waffle - about the rugby, but
a) y'all remember being curt with me about my fumbled attempts at making any comments about football and
b) car accident beats rugby hands down.

So here's the thing.
I spent the afternoon selling cranberries. It was raining, we were under the shelter, but it was rainy cold. Afterwards, I went to Shoppers Drug Mart.

On my way home I had stopped just before a pedestrian crossing on Five Road that is placed bizarrely, just before an intersection. I was indicating that I was turning left onto McNeely.

I had waited until the oncoming traffic was clear, checked that there was no-one about to step onto the crossing and was just about to turn left.

There was a loud noise, I was moving forward and steering, but other than that, had no control over the car, the wind was coming in the back, I was lying back in my seat, I couldn't see very well. When I reached the curb, I braked. I guess I braked, I stopped. I thought the back of the car had exploded. I couldn't work out why or how. I opened the door, I looked out, but couldn't turn, I didn't have the presence of mind even to take the seatbelt off.
There was a strange taste, like chlorine.

An Indian man was running towards the car, he looked in, asking me if I was ok, that he was so sorry, his brakes had locked, he had sneezed and his brakes had locked. Only then did I realise he'd gone into the back of me.
I undid my seatbelt, I was shaking, badly.
'Where are my glasses?' I asked. He told me they were on the back seat. I reached back and they were there, so was the windscreen. I got out. The man was still apologising, asking how I was.
He asked if it was ok if he moved his vehicle from the middle of the road to the side road that I had been about to turn into. He was driving a pale blue Chevrolet pickup truck.
The radio was talking to itself. I fiddled with the key and couldn't seem to turn it off. I realised the car must have stalled when I was hit and my foot must have slipped off the clutch.
I looked for the phone in my bag, couldn't find it, kept looking, found it, phoned Kevin.
'Call 911,' he said.
By the time Kevin got to me, the police were there and the fire brigade (first response medical) soon after.
I was still in shock, but when Kevin got there I knew I didn't have to think anymore, just as well, I couldn't think. Couldn't find my driver's licence, found it. Kevin found the insurance.
The glove compartment and cup holder had opened out. The driver's seat had gone into a reclining position.
The police did all the paperwork, getting the man's details, giving us the case number. The Indian guy was there right to the end, still apologising.

The whole thing was shock. I just kept saying,
'I thought the car had blown up,' in a shaky voice. And yet the car protected me. The back lights were all crushed and the windscreen blown in, but it didn't crumple. The emergency services arrived quickly.
But first and foremost, I'm generally a calm person, and yet given this situation, I couldn't even think to undo my seatbelt or call 911.
I was lucky that it happened just as I was about to turn, ie when there was no oncoming traffic and that the guy wasn't the kind of shit who just buggers off. He could have done, since I didn't even realise I'd been hit.

I'm ok. I'm not even shaking anymore.
Now we have the inconvenience of no car and having to go to the insurance place, I have an appointment.
Here in BC, there is no competition in car insurance. The insurance company is Province-wide, and they are also responsible for issuing driving licences, so it's all a bit of a rum do.
I think this is always the way with insurance. Insurance is supposed to put you back in the same position you were in before the accident, and yet it doesn't, and nor does it in any way alleviate the inconvenience you have suffered whilst just going about your daily business.

The Life Idiotic. But at least I still have one.