It was a typical work day. Me and my business partner were heading down to Bar Harbor to have another ball busting day at work. It was around 80 degrees outside and the sun was beating down on the Earth leaving a haze coming off the road. It was in the middle of summer driving down Route 1A heading to the most beautiful tourist island in the United States. Me and my friend, Jason, owned a newly started landscaping business and it was weirdly doing great. We were working five days a week and actually had to hire one and sometimes two people to work with us. The job we were currently on was a high priority job which we were very behind on. It was important for us to get there and we had plenty of things left to do. The house was going to be in HOME magazine and it was going to be a great thing for us to be feature on the front page of a very popular magazine.
So as we headed down we were smoking a bowl to get our morning attitude adjustment. We both didn’t really drink coffee so a few tokes and a drink were all we needed. Of course the cologne was in the glove box as well. We could loose business over someone smelling that weed smell on us especially some filthy rich southern bell we were working for. There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road I think our little line of traffic of 5 cars was the only little line of traffic out this morning. When all of a sudden we came to a pretty quick stop. Thank god Jason was paying attention and this wasn’t like one of those anti marijuana commercial were the guy keeps going running over people. This was the real life.
Just then we noticed a horror show. There was a accident with a car which hit a tractor trailer truck. We raced up to the accident to help and we were two of the first people. Diesel fuel from the truck laid all over the road. It literally looked liked it rained diesel fuel. It didn’t slow us down as we ran through the fuel to get to the car. The truck driver was fine and was out almost stunned just standing there looking at his truck instead of aiding the car. The car was crunched it looked as if it was a soda can that had been stepped on. A women was in the front seat somehow and she was very dazed and confused. She laid there limp and could see the pain and fear in her eyes. She couldn’t say anything but her eyes said it all she didn’t even need to talk. Another guy the ran to help was with her talking to her telling her she was alright. Her legs were stuck under the dash due to the impact of the crash pushing the dash toward the seat. She was pinned between a rock and a hard place in other words.
I looked in the passenger seat which thank god there was no one due to the fact there was basically no passenger side. Very great full at that mediocre fact it I turned so my focus went to the back hoping there was no kids in the back. No one was in the passenger side back seat and it was a good thing because that side was demolished. The front seat was pushed up like a wrinkle. As well as being just another wrinkle in the car, it was driven back as to be sitting on the back seat. It was like the front seat was a car seat sitting on the back seat. I couldn’t say the same for the driver side back seat. To my viewing was a car seat. I went to the car seat hoping there was no baby in it. The car seat, however, was not sitting on the back seat though which shot my nerves through the roof. Thank god for the bowl we smoked earlier. The back window was blown out and there was a baby who was strapped in the car seat was up on the back dash board and partly out side where the back window once was. I made sure the baby was alright and knew not to touch anyone if we didn’t have to so I made the baby feel alright.
Wouldn’t you know it the car at that moment happened to catch on fire. What a great time for this to happen. A women was trapped in the car and gas was everywhere. We all panicked at this moment and tried to push the car out of the fuel and throw sand up under the hood. I didn’t actually see the flames but someone else yelled in a frightening voice, “FIRE.“ Thank god at the moment a guy in spandex, which kind of at that tense moment made me chuckle or maybe it was the weed or a way for me to calm my nervousness, but whatever the fact he ran over with a fire extinguisher and saved the day. By this time fire, paramedics and police showed up and took over. We walked back through the stream of diesel fuel with our heads hung and eyes full of sadness. Some people may have held their heads high knowing they may have just saved someone’s life but anyone hurt is a hard, sad, fact of life. We were proud at heart or I know I was. People watched us as we walked asking, “Is everyone alright.” We ignored them not to be rude but were more fearful for the outcome.
This was a disastrous day and we both knew we couldn’t go to work. You see my friend Jason was in a life threatening car accident and was in the hospital for a month about a year before this. His accident as well, was on the same road just the other way. He was a passenger in a head on collision. The passenger side of this car gave flashbacks to the passenger side of the car he was in. He was cut out and life flighted to the Hospital and laid in a coma for two weeks. Until this day he suffers with seizures and other limps from the accident.
To boot, two weeks before this I got literally blown up and my face burnt off due to a gasoline and pine tree accident. We happen to be on a job cutting a enormous pin tree that fell on someone’s house. Instead of hauling it off we decided to burn it. We gathered up a bunch of the branches and piled them up and figured while those were burning we could try like heck to cut this thick tree with our small saw. It is always hard to light wet wood so I dumped a splash of gas on it and even poured a small trail out away knowing it may mushroom up a bit. I lit my trail of fuel and next thing I knew I was 10 feet away laying on the ground. Who would of figured. I asked Jason if I was alright and he said yes just to calm my nerves I moments later found out. I looked in the side mirror and watched my face slide off my face. I was like a melting wax figure with skin dripping to the ground.
This made us have a sort of personal connection to this. The saddest part to all of this is that in that car of two people were three people. The next day on the front page come to find out there was another little girl in the car who they cut out. She was dead on arrival. What if that was my friend Jason? What if that was my mom and brother. You never know but I feel we all have some kind of civic duty to aid others in any type of time in need. You never know when you may be the one who needs the help. I am still cursed with the thought, “ If only we could of helped her………..”
I think you're doubling down on the weakest element here. The story is the story and all the other stories are sidebars and possible distractions. Here's the ending the way I imagine it--your mileage obviously varies, but for what it's worth:
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t you know it the car at that moment happened to catch on fire. What a great time for this to happen. A women was trapped in the car and gas was everywhere. We all panicked at this moment and tried to push the car out of the fuel and throw sand up under the hood. I didn’t actually see the flames but someone else yelled in a frightening voice, “FIRE.“ Thank god at the moment a guy in spandex, which kind of at that tense moment made me chuckle or maybe it was the weed or a way for me to calm my nervousness, but whatever the fact he ran over with a fire extinguisher and saved the day.
By this time fire, paramedics and police showed up and took over. We walked back through the stream of diesel fuel with our heads hung and eyes full of sadness. Some people may have held their heads high knowing they may have just saved someone’s life but anyone hurt is a hard, sad, fact of life. We were proud at heart or I know I was. People watched us as we walked asking, “Is everyone alright.” We ignored them not to be rude but were more fearful for the outcome.
This was a disastrous day and we both knew we couldn’t go to work.
The saddest part to all of this is that in that car of two people were three people. The next day on the front page come to find out there was another little girl in the car who they cut out. She was dead on arrival. What if that was my friend Jason? What if that was my mom and brother. You never know but I feel we all have some kind of civic duty to aid others in any type of time in need. You never know when you may be the one who needs the help. I am still cursed with the thought, “ If only we could of helped her………..”