Wham!

I love media exposure as much as the next guy, but this isn’t quite the type of exposure I usually seek out: “An accident on the inbound Memorial Bridge has the right lane blocked; you’ll need to stick to the left to get by...”

Yep, for any of you listening in the Washington area, that was me. As if determined to demonstrate that my gripes about the beginning of the week were nothing, the fates decided to give me a lesson in true annoyance.

Now, before anyone starts worrying (as if you were anyway), I’m okay, the other driver is okay, Murphy is okay. In comparison, even my car is okay; I’ll have to get it checked out to be sure, but it looks like most of the damage is superficial. I was able to drive away, unlike the other driver. While my rear bumper did its job admirably, the same cannot be said for his front bumper. Alas, the bumper was demolished, the radiator was compressed back into what was left of the engine (which had decided to vomit a fair quantity of its contents onto the street below), and the hood was doing a fairly good impression of an accordion.

The police were quick to respond, and all told, we were out of there in about 45 minutes. Since he rear-ended me (I was stopped in the traffic waiting to exit), I wasn’t cited for being at fault. So other than the inconvenience of having to deal with the insurance company, being without a car for a few days while it’s repaired, and a little neck stiffness from tensing at the moment of impact (nothing so dramatic as “whiplash,” though I can’t help worrying just a tad), I came out pretty well.

But given the number of accidents I’ve had in the past few years — all the result of someone else’s inattention — I’m starting to wonder just when one of those accidents is going to be more serious.

Sorry, just feeling a little paranoid. I’ll get over it soon enough.