Life Didn't End There!

It's bothered me that I let that picture of destruction (my last post) hang at the top of my blog for so long. My story didn't end there! To be frank, though, the challenges of the past four years, including that crash and the long road of healing that followed, have left me with several home and personal projects undone. I have just a couple of them finished now and have many more to go! I've been busy.

The photo above is a nice counterbalance to the last post, don't you think? It is from my vacation with my daughter Sophia this past summer. This is a view we enjoyed as we headed home on West 30 through Pennsylvania. I wanted to take some scenic byways instead of the highways -- more adventurous that way. We were able to see and do a lot of things that we would have missed on the main roads. For one, we stopped at several thrift stores on the way home and found a few nifty things. (Thanks to the tip, Christine!)

And little did I know that the Flight 91 Memorial was on this route; we stopped there. We only had about 20 minutes until closing time. Among other images, I was able to capture (with permission) this, at left: a state park ranger teaching a young visitor proper flag protocol at dusk.

Earlier on Route 30, we had a very large truck following right behind us us for at least an hour. You know how trucks tend to speed up when they go downhill? Well, I didn't want to speed up. You know, 'cause of the ups, the downs, and twisty-turny-all-around stuff. Vehicles able to come at me at any which way, at any moment. And that situation was a little unnerving. So Sophia and I started to concoct some "phantom truck" scenarios, a la Stephen King. And she captured the image of it, here:

The Phantom Truck

This trip was a good one, in many ways. There's the obvious -- visiting family in Virginia. But, also, this was the first trip I've taken with just my daughter. And this was the first time I've driven more than an hour's time from home since the crash last year. For several months after that crash, driving on two lane country roads -- the kind on which the crash happened -- made me nervous, sick to my stomach even. I avoided them when I could. On this trip, though, we sought them out. Can't let fear get in the way of living. I had healed as much as I was going to heal; it was time. As U2's song Kite goes, "I'm not afraid to die. I'm not afraid to live. And when I'm flat on my back, I hope to think that I did."

On Route 30, we didn't know what was around the next corner. But we knew we'd eventually get home. So we had fun.

I Took a Trip

Photo: Kathy Koch.

I just took one long and painful trip around the sun. Glad I was able to make it. Last year on June 23rd, I was T-boned at an intersection on a country road by someone going fast. I never saw him coming.

I had to be cut out of my car.

---------->>>>

---------->>>>

---------->>>>

It went like this:

sunday drive
 
metal hits metal and flesh is thrown about
instantly, impersonally.
bones break, but instincts take over
and i attempt to flee this sudden hell.

fleeing proves futile, but a rescue is made
as pain grows and envelopes like
an invisible casket,
a malevolent encasement,
heavier each hour.

i look up from the gurney, at
three or four men looking down.
"do you pray? pray for me?" i ask them.
"you're lucky to be here," i hear back.

i struggle to breathe
the oxygen mask smothers me.
i want it off. they keep it on,
and won't let me move.

I had several broken bones and soft tissue injuries. I spent a couple weeks in the hospital, and the rest of the year at home, recovering, going to physical therapy, and then trying to find some sort of productive daily routine.  Overall, my recovery took 14 months. I still have pain.

So, I wasn't able to go to my first gallery reception for my photography show at Waterloo Studios, which was what my last post was about,  a year ago. The reception was five days after the crash. That was a huge disappointment. But...I'm alive.