Traffic Mishap
Thursday, May. 15, 2003, 9:02 a.m.

Question: Do you know where your car insurance card is?

What I Learned: Bumpers really do crumple.

Last week my daughter placed a call to me from her cell phone on her way home from school. How nice and how unusual. Did she miss her family so much that she just had to phone home? Was she calling to see if I needed anything from the store so she could pick it up for me; sparing me a chore? Did she want to let me know she had just aced a test? Wouldn't you know it - it was none of the above.

So why was she calling? A little traffic mishap.

I was relieved though because like the first little nick, scratch, or dent in the brand new car that you hold your breath and wait for, it finally happened and the burden of waiting for the inevitable has fallen from my shoulders - she has had her first traffic accident (and hopefully her last) and she is okay. It was a simple fender bender. And I mean that in the most dramatic, the-whole-bumper-will-have-to-be-replaced sense.

But here's the good news:

• She's okay;
• She was not at fault because someone ran into her;
• The person who ran into her was actually a calm mature individual who was happy to take responsibility for her actions - accidental though they were;
• the momentarily distracted bumper-smacker had insurance.

The person who ran into her was actually a professor/assistant dean type who taught conflict management and resolution at a local college - now who better to get in a car accident with I ask you? That explains the calm and reasonable demeanor mentioned above. The prof and I had a very nice chat on the cell phone. I recognized another poor soul just trying to keep up with life and in this case taking a little detour. If nothing else, she'll have a good story to tell the class full of students she would be arriving late to instruct that afternoon and later toss out over coffee with her colleagues. What a way to get a late excuse and some good small talk material.

I sincerely hope that this isn't a new and rather aggressive university recruitment technique. Time will tell.

DETAILS: coffee: turtle mocha (again) + listening to: radio mix + just finished reading: fishbowl + observing: too many piles on my desk + weather: cloudy day

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