I want to stay alive

[sovay]

I was almost hit by a car.

Walking down College Ave. into Davis: I was on the left-hand sidewalk, crossing one of those tiny little streets or driveways between Ciampa Manor and the T stop, and a car coming up behind me suddenly turned into it. Which meant into me. I had to jump, literally, with my backpack, in slush, or he would have smashed me head-on. I only realized it was happening because of the road sound, tires and rain-hiss; he was moving very fast, much faster than I would have thought safe for the area. He barely even slowed when he saw me. He did yell, "Sorry!" as though somehow that would make up for having almost killed me. He can't have not seen me. There was direct lighting; I could see his face through the windshield as I went by. I cleared the bumper by a very little space. I was thinking very distinctly, "If I slip on the ice when I land, if I miss my footing, I am going to fall backwards and this car is going to run over my head." If I'd stayed where I was, a substantial chunk of Ford engineering at thirty miles an hour would probably have broken at least one bone.

If I am feeling generous toward the driver, he was having trouble steering in the slush and the ice and would probably not have run over me by choice. I think the chances are better that he was a complete asshole. ("Sorry!"?) I think this is the closest I have ever been to a road accident as a pedestrian: I have had to hurry through crosswalks or stand back from trucks taking corners sharply, but I have never actually before thought in the moment that I might die. It was unnerving and I do not wish to repeat the experience, ever.

I went straight into the subway.

I am drinking tea and goat milk and honey now and trying to get my heart rate down.

That happened.

Comments

[kate_nepveu]

Yikes! Glad you're okay.

[thistleingrey]

Oh, gosh. Very glad you're okay.

[audioboy.livejournal.com]

Eep! *gentle hugs*

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

Do. Not. Like.

Major hugs. I'm so happy you are alive.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness!

That's horrible. I'm glad you're OK, and that you heard him enough in advance. Reminds me of the time a pickup truck went straight through a stop sign onto a Very Busy arterial street & almost hit me (I saw him in the corner of my eye & managed to get out of the way too).

If the driver had been a nice person, he would have stopped the car safely, got out, checked you were OK, & apologized profusely. Also he wouldn't have been driving fast in bad conditions.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Concurring heartily with your final paragraph.

[moon-custafer.livejournal.com]

Me too. Also, hugs to sovay.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I am so very, very, very relieved and happy things went as they did. You poor thing! Bless your lucky leap in reverse, and praise the angels and demons you did not miss your footing.

And that vague miasma you see round you are all the spirits that feed on excess adrenalin....

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Dear gods. How terrifying.

*serious hugs*

I am so thankful you're all right.

Nine

[rosefox]

I am so glad you're okay.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I am very exceedingly thankful that you are okay. I am very sorry that the incident happened in the first place.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Yikes! You have my absolute sympathy -- I was nearly hit by a cab in London some years back. (Entirely my fault: I was not paying attention to what I was doing.) The shock of it is still with me, when I think back to the incident.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Asshole, for definite. (Almost all my pedestrian-survival skills are based on the sounds of traffic; we get really, really good at that.)

Please to budget extra for assholes in slush?

[desperance.livejournal.com]

(milks you another goat)

[rinue.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. I was honked at copiously yesterday while driving for not making a right turn into a group of pedestrians. I think some drivers believe snow means all the rules of life and death are suspended. Traffic lights are blinking, so the people might blink out of the way.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh - I'm so glad you're all right!

[selidor]

I am exceedingly glad you are okay and whole in body. And that there is tea in a warm place for the adrenalin.

Gah.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I am very glad you're OK.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Ouch! I, too, want you to stay alive. Hope you are over the worst of the shakes.

[gaudior.livejournal.com]

Holy crap that is scary! I am also really glad you did not die! You not dying is a very important thing! I have strong feelings about this.

Love you.

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[beowabbit]

Oh, I am so glad you are OK!

(I like the poem, by the way.)

[aedifica]

Aieee! I'm happy you're alive.

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that you were not hit. I hope you are waking up to find this day calmer and better (and free of asshole drivers).
*hugs*

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

I am very glad you are not dead or injured.

[samhenderson.livejournal.com]

Oh my God. I'm glad you're alive. What an asshole.

[csecooney.livejournal.com]

Criminy. Those are universe-splitting moments, I think. After I escape something narrowly, I always think, "An alternate one of me died just now, somewhere." I am glad you didn't.

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

Look, if I still had a paid account and all my icons, this dude would be getting the Pointy Elbows of Doom icon SO HARD.

O LOOK I HAVE IT ELBOW RIGHT IN YOUR JUNK, GUY

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it wasn't worse, but sorry that it happened.

[fleurdelis28.livejournal.com]

I actually just finished a book that explains how drivers can look straight at things and not actually see them when they're not expecting them to be there. Not that that's reassuring in the least, broadly speaking - nor does it explain his failure to pull over and blubber appropriately about how he's so glad you're okay.

Also - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! So glad you are, in fact, okay.

[zdenka]

I am glad you were not hit by a car.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you aten't dead and so sorry you had this happen at all. I hope his driving karma catches up with him soon, with associated lawsuits.

*offers praline shortbread*

[weirdquark]

Glad you're okay!

[rivertumbled.livejournal.com]

Cars are so scary. Glad you are unharmed!!!

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that's awful! I'm so glad to hear you are alright.

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

Good heavens. That's terrifying. I'm glad you are unharmed. May the driver's karma descend upon him soon and mightily.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Waaagh, Jesus! I'm so sorry.

[farwing.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I am so glad that asshole did not run you over. *hugs*

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you're okay.

[gwynnega]

I'm so sorry!! But I'm so glad you managed to avoid being hit.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

Ouch. I am so sorry. (Which feels very inadequate.)

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

GAH. So glad he did not hit you. Love you so very, very much.

[sovay]

Love you so very, very much.

I love you so. I am making a note to myself to remember that my first impulse was to jump out of the way. That is an improvement on circumstances this time last year.

[ajodasso.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Ugh, not a good experience, ever. Almost got hit by a bus in France once. As a result, I am so cautious about crossing streets that it actively annoys my friends and family.