Cobra

Yes, it's the Fourth of July. A time of celebration of our great nation's independece. Food, fireworks, and fun for all ages...indeed.

This date holds another sad significance for me personally. July 4, 2005 was a day like any other, alas it had that holiday feeling to it. At the time, I was still living in North Carolina and had gone to visit a friend of mine. After visiting for a while, I left that afternoon to go back home. I was driving down a curvy, hilly road in the NC foothills and enjoying the particularly nice weather that day. As I rounded a bend and crested a hill, I found myself headed straight for a late 80s Taurus station wagon with nowhere to go. I hit the brakes but it was too late...the lack of ABS in my Focus may have actually lessened the damage of the impact but it was still severe enough to push the front of my car back about 2 feet and deploy the airbags. The other car was spun around and ended up off the opposing side of the road while my car went up an embankment off to the right.

What happened? Well, there was a street off to the right side of my lane which was on the crest of the hill. Rather than pulling up to see if traffic was coming on the other side, the driver cut the corner only to have me find him in mid-turn. I escaped with only an airbag burn to the inside of my left forearm. He was more unfortunate, however. I noticed at least a cut forehead among possibly other things. Thank God for airbags.

So what does this have to do with the title? Well, you see, the elderly drivers seem to hunt me down, this gentleman was no exception. In the, oh, say five accidents I've been involved in since I was 16, all but one involved an elderly person. Not to mention the numerous near-misses I have encountered. My Senior year of high school, I worked hours and hours and saved to buy my first car of my own...a pristine '89 Chevrolet Beretta GT. I had the car for no more than 2 months before an elderly woman failed to stop for a traffic officer outside the high school and took it out. She then had the nerve to say it was my fault...HAH. I also had an old woman lock up her brakes in front of me (to this day I still have no idea why...) and I slid under her bumper. My car was sideswiped by an old man. And then the old man cutting the hill corner.

Maybe I'm one of those "young punk" drivers they seek to get off the road. I am by no means an aggressive driver but I have to be defensive. Who knows what evils those old people will use to take out my current vehicle...