Wednesday, February 23, 2011

might be time for a bucket list (of sorts)

Last night, I almost died on the Merritt Parkway.

While that sounds overly dramatic, it is a miracle that I'm not in a hospital right now.

I was cruising along the death trap known as the Sikorsky Bridge at a comfortable - and respectable - 55mph. I was about 20 feet from an on ramp when a car simply COASTED through the stop sign and onto the highway. Going 20. And not accelerating.

I leaned on the horn and slammed on my brakes...so much so that my brakes were grinding and I was seriously wondering if my car would stop.

By some miracle - and minimal swerving into the left lane of 65-mph traffic - I SOMEHOW managed to A) not hit the IDIOT who pulled out in front of me at a snail's pace, B) not get rear-ended by the truck behind me, and C) avoid getting smashed on my left side by other cars.

Unscathed, I drove home shaking ridiculously, going 40 mph behind the person who almost killed me.

I didn't have one of those 'my life flashed before my eyes' moments (my mind was more like, 'WTF is this person doing???').

But as I drove home at a Granny's speed, I realized that if something HAD happened to me, there were lots of things I would have left this world without doing.

Namely:

  • I've never seen the Grand Canyon.
  • I've never sipped wine at a sidewalk cafe in Italy.
  • I don't own a pair of Louboutins.
  • I haven't lived in my new house or cooked on my new stove!
  • I've never tasted caviar.
  • I haven't written my novel.
  • I haven't won Powerball.
  • I'm not back to a comfy size 6.
  • I haven't been on The Food Network.
  • I'm not a celebrity's BFF.
  • I have not reached 100 years old.

Time to make some lists.

1 comment:

Tasha said...

Very scary! It's amazing that some people have a driver's license. Sipping wine at a cafe in Italy sounds WONDERFUL! I wanna go too!