[Not] Thinking Like a Blogger
My wife and I were visiting with a friend and fellow blogger last evening on the patio of our favorite caffeinery when our conversation was interrupted by the roar of a car engine followed immediately by that sickening metal-on-metal crash. Thirty feet from our table, a older-model black Cougar had backed forcefully into a new Pontiac, which in turn was pushed into a new Tahoe parked next to it. A new Tahoe which, unfortunately, belonged to our friend.
We sat, stunned, for a couple of seconds, not believing what we'd just witnessed (for we had looked up at the sound of the engine just in time to see the crash). We then rushed over to the female driver who was already out, inspecting the damage, and in tears. She was fine, physically, but shaken by what she'd just done.
The Pontiac was badly damaged. The driver's side rear wheel was canted at an unnatural angle and the rear quarter panel was collapsed. However, it was difficult to discern the damage to the Tahoe, because the passenger side rear quarter panel was firmly embedded in the Tahoe's front passenger side panel (it had been backed into its parking space). There was no way to move either car without adding to the damage.
We had been preparing to leave for home when all of this happened, but we stayed around long enough to loan a cell phone for a call to the police and requisite family members, and to assure ourselves that the situation was under control. When we left, our friend was discussing Harry Potter with a barista, while the unfortunate woman driver continued to shed tears while sitting on her car's damaged bumper.
"So," you're probably asking, "what does any of this have to do with the post title?" Good question; I'd expect nothing less from my astute readers. Here's the deal: it never occurred to me to take photos. We had two perfectly good phones with cameras, and we didn't capture any part of this scene for later reporting.
I've never had illusions that this blog is a journalistic resource, and this seems to confirm it. Of course, it's not like this was Big News – not like, say, "Paris In Prison" or "Paris Not In Prison" or "Paris Eats Cheerios in Prison" – but it was something out of the ordinary. A real journalist would have responded differently.
On the other hand, it's also a bit comforting to realize that maybe I'm not an obsessed blogger, after all. If my first (or even second or third) thought wasn't, "man, I've got to blog this!" then perhaps there's hope for me after all.
On the third hand, I did blog about it, didn't I?
It's worth noting that if a picture is worth a thousand words, I've at least offered 45% of a photo via this post. Not including this footnote.
You're absolutely right: you're much worse than me! ;-)
[Bluetooth. The answer to your cellphone photo dilemma. Bluetooth.]
Posted by: Eric at June 14, 2007 09:57 AMGosh...I'm just glad your friend's car was parked and no one in it (and that it seems the driver was ok.)
Though pictures would still be nice. :)
Posted by: beth at June 14, 2007 10:10 AMAnd who says Midland's boring?
If I had been that woman, my tears would be shed for me feeling like the biggest dumbo in the world for having done something so reckless.
By the way, I'm Trish...a native Midlander now living in the farthest depths of the United States...aka Michigan. I've been making my rounds through the West Texas blogs, and while I've popped onto yours for the last week or so, I'm just now getting around to introducing myself.
See ya in blogland!
Posted by: Tricia at June 14, 2007 11:19 AMBeth, I'm working on a "separate but equal answer" for the missing photos. Stay tuned. ;-)
Trish, thanks for stopping by and joining in! Did I see your name and link on a comment over on Bob Westbrook's blog? Anyway, regarding the unfortunate driver, she was indeed distraught over what she recognized was a terrible mistake: stepping on the gas instead of the brake. You hear about that a lot, but it usually involves much older drivers.
By the way, I've blogrolled you, and put you in the "West Texas" category. As they say, you can take the girl out of West Texas but...well, you know the rest. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at June 14, 2007 11:38 AMYou obviously are not a Methodist. We would have counted the footnote.
Is your blogger friend planning a post about the incident? I'd love to read it.
Posted by: Jim at June 14, 2007 01:29 PMPerhaps when he realizes the magnitude of the interest in hearing the story, he'll do just that.
Posted by: Eric at June 14, 2007 01:34 PMWhat is the proper etiquette for me linking to your blog? Would you like to link to my blog? I used to be on your home page, but no more. And when I search blogs that link you, I do not see "Lafayette Life". Just a-wondering.
Posted by: John Comeaux at June 17, 2007 06:33 AMJohn, it's purely an oversight that you're not blogrolled! Thanks for letting me know. Once I get back home (we're out of town) I'll rectify that situation.
Posted by: Eric at June 17, 2007 08:55 AMAbout the publisher
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Kinda the way I felt the other night at Jonny Lang and Delbert McClinton (I missed Leon). I found myself with no camera, and then found a *blogger* of all things had posted *video* of the event and here I was a "professional" and had forgotten all my equipment ... (but I can't tell you how many times I've had to borrow a pen to do an interview). So anyway, I borrowed my daughter's new Motorola phone to try to take pictures (she came with me, God love her and bless her ... an 18-year-old who would actually go out in public with her old man to see another old man sing, what a great, selfless kid [it heped that her boyfriend was out of town]) ... but now neither one of us knows how to actually get ... the ... pictures ... off the phone. Now you know why I feel like you this morning, eh? I mean, the fact that I have photos but can't retrieve them is sorta like having 45 percent of a picture. Plus, I've gone on for about 1,000 words. So, yeah.
Posted by: Jimmy at June 14, 2007 09:11 AM