Things That Go Bump In The Night

It started to snow around lunch time. By the end of my work day there was only a few inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down. I took it easy and made sure not to go up THAT hill on my way home.

On my way home I stopped by the gas station to fill up and use the ATM. I wanted to have cash on hand for a cab for ManSon and maybe some Pizza delivery. As I pulled up in our driveway I thought of parking the van at the very bottom to deter the snow plow from burying us in. I decided to pull the van all the way up to the side of the house. This way less snow/ice would accumulate on the windows and I would have more time to relax before picking up ManSon.

I had not decided yet if I would venture out to pick up ManSon myself or have him call a cab. When I came home Snow White informed me there was a new episode of Inuyasha On Demand. She knows she cannot watch it without my supervision. I look forward to spending this time with her and I have a bit of Anime addiction myself.

I decided to watch this episode with her and then pick up ManSon. We settled down on the family room couch for a relaxing half hour. As soon as Inuyasha started to play my cell phone rang. (stop movie).

It was Oldest Daughter wanting to know if I would pick her up tonight or tomorrow night since she is also off school tomorrow. I explained about the snow, it maybe tomorrow night or even Saturday morning depending on the roads. We chatted for a little bit and laughed a lot. After awhile she needed to go so we said our goodbyes.

Snow White was getting a little anxious about watching Inuyasha so we started the On Demand again. What was that? That noise? Is someone pounding on our front door? (stop movie). We listened for a little bit but heard nothing more. (start movie).

We are just past the intro and then I heard an even louder banging! (stop movie) This time I was sure someone was banging on the front door. When I opened the door there was a man, shaking and stuttering slightly. At first I wasn’t sure what was wrong with him. Then he pointed out in the darkness to where my Lincoln should be. “I am soooo sorry. I hit your car.” But where was my car?

I was looking in the wrong direction. The car was much closer to the house than I thought it would have been. The man apparently hit the back end of the Lincoln, spun it around and pushed it up the driveway directly behind my van. The Lincoln was no longer perpendicular to the house. It was now parallel to the house! Parked sideways near the top of the driveway.

The man’s silver Volvo SUV was halfway into my neighbor’s yard. It apparently missed my mailbox by about 2 inches and stopped on top of my neighbor’s hedge. I was shocked at the sight. I asked the man if he was alright. I would have been a nervous wreck, shaking and crying hysterically, if it had been me.

I went inside to get paper and a pen so we could exchange information. I watched the man write down his name. He was shaking a bit and that made his name a bit difficult to read. He couldn’t remember his insurance number but did write down the name. He promised to call me with the number as soon as he was home. That sounded a little fishy but then again I didn’t know my insurance number right off hand.

The man wanted to move his car so I could move my Lincoln back to where it was before the accident. Or at least move it so it was not preventing my van from getting out of the driveway. I helped guide the man out of the hedge. It was then that the next door neighbors came outside. “We were wondering why someone was walking around in our front yard. Glad it’s only you.” Then…”OH MY G** What happened to your car?! My hedge? What happened?!” I explained the situation and they thought it was best to stay outside with me. They are really wonderful neighbors. They wanted to make sure this stranger wasn’t going to do me harm.

I ran back into the house to get the keys to the Lincoln. Problem, I couldn’t remember where the keys were. We haven’t used the Lincoln in so long. Finally, I find a spare set but the battery was completely dead. No problem I have one of those generator, charger thing-a-me-bobs. Oh, it’s dead too. I forgot to plug it back in after loaning to the neighbors to jump start their vehicle. That’s ok, the man had jumper cables. They were only about 2 feet long. I had never seen such little jumper cables. It was taking a good while for a charge to take so I called ManSon’s work and said he should take a cab home. Not to worry about the cost, Mommy will take care of it. We finally got the Lincoln started and moved it so the van was no longer blocked.

As the man left I thought maybe I should get his license plate number. He did not write that down, nor did he write down what kind of car he had. As he drove away the neighbor’s daughter and I made note of the license plate. I went inside to get my camera. I might need photos when the insurance adjuster comes by. The neighbor’s daughter took photos with her cell phone and I used my digital camera. We must have taken photos from ever angle, the Lincoln, hedge, tire tracks. I think we were out there for a good half hour taking pictures. Then, a policeman drove up. We thought maybe someone called the police for suspicious “flashing”, you know the camera flash? Apparently, my next door neighbor called the police and then went somewhere. Her daughter and I had no idea she called the police or that she had left. The police officer said we pretty much were doing everything we should and there was nothing more he could do for us. So we let him go. Just as he left my neighbor called her daughter’s cell phone. Apparently she wanted us to file a police report but it was too late now. The policeman had already left.

ManSon couldn’t believe how bad the Lincoln was damaged but he saw the silver lining…Maybe this is God’s way of saying ‘Get rid of that old Lincoln and get a car for me.” We all laughed! Yes, maybe it was. See, everything happens for a reason.