Doug Van Pelt

My Cocoon...

...of safety and invincibility was broken yesterday. I was on my way to Best Buy after dropping my youngest daughter off at a birthday party, and I thought, 'I bet Kinko's is done printing the new issue of Heaven's Metal,' even though they hadn't called me yet, so I changed lanes and proceeded to go West on 1325 off the Southbound IH-35 access road. When I stopped to yield to oncoming traffic, something strange happened.

WHAM! I was rear-ended by a mini-van (I drive a VW Beetle) and the impact was pretty hard. The first thing I thought about was my car: 'That sounded like damage.' It was a pretty violent collision, as I was stopped and this person's car probably struck me at about 20 mph or slightly higher. My neck whipped back against my head rest harder than I expected. The container of potato wedges I had just bought at KFC were all over the car (come to find out in strange places).

When we both pulled into the parking lot of Garden Ridge Pottery (thankful to have had an accident with a responsible person, instead of a hit and run driver), she mouthed the words "I'm sorry" through the windows. When I got out, she again apologized and I said something that is one of my personal belief systems (that when someone says, "I'm sorry," something inside of them longs to hear the words, "I forgive you,") so that's what I said. Judging by her stickers on the back of her minivan, Trayce was a Christian. "Thanks for forgiving me, but I'm sorry I hit you."

It wasn't a horrible accident, as far as auto accidents go, but it was the worst collision I have ever been in. I am so annoyed by frivolous lawsuits and fraudulant claims blamed on back and neck injuries, so I automatically felt weird for feeling this way, but I wondered about my neck. I had a decent headache for an hour or two, but thankfully nothing seemed wrong with my body.

I went to Kinko's and picked up copies of Heaven's Metal Fanzine (served by an employee who was a Demon Hunter fan and liked HM Magazine), and went to Best Buy to spend a gift card and a couple "Reward Zone" certificates. I got a call while there from this lady's Progressive insurance agent, who wanted to get a look at the car's damage, etc. The rear bumper of the car took the shock without bending or cracking, but my two right tail lights were popped out, and the two white license plate lamps were broken. The agent asked me about how I felt and had me fill out an injury assessment, saying he'd give me a check for $200 if I wanted. I asked if that would put a limit on my potential benefits, and he said yes, so I said, "No thanks." I'm not wanting to get money from an accident, but I also don't want to get ripped off by a company by signing some sort of agreement that says, "Nothing else is wrong with me." If I started to hurt today or Monday, then I'd be out of luck it seems. They estimated the repair costs and gave me a check for the car's damage, but I didn't have to sign anything for that, and I could get more if the repairs cost more than the estimate.

Ho hum. Accident details. I was listening to Rock and Roll Worship Circus as the accident happened, which is a minute detail that I'd be curious to know. It probably had me in a better mood than if I'd been listening to the new Norma Jean (which I just got and have been enjoying. It's amazing), so that was good. I remember exactly what tape I was listening to during an accident on the way to high school. Maybe I should be a movie producer or something, noticing tiny "soundtrack" details like that. Maybe not.

What were you listening to during significant events, like a car accident? 9/11?

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at February 13, 2005 07:37 AM