Turns out I’m not a heartless bitch after all
When I was eighteen-years-old, I was going to college to become a Certified Nurses Aide (CNA). Along with class time, we also had to clock some field experience as well. That meant I had to work in a nursing home a few days a week. We had regular 8 hour shifts and had to be there by early in the morning. I am not a morning person. And I’m constantly running late.
One morning I was in my scrubs with my little white shoes on (only I have big feet, so I guess they were big, white shoes) speeding to the nursing home. It was Spring and we were experiencing some of those April showers. I came flying over a hill only to find a line of cars on the other side. I slammed on my breaks, but I couldn’t stop and I hit the car in front of me.
We both got out of our cars. I was on the verge of tears. I was going to be late. I couldn’t afford to pay for car damages. And I’d probably lose my insurance. I apologized profusely to the guy who got out of the car in front of me. He said, “Yeah, I saw you coming.” But he didn’t seem mad. In fact he was very calm. Way better than I was.
We looked our cars and didn’t see any damage. He told me to drive safe and let me go. No yelling. No lecture. No insurance claims. No calls to the police. I was so grateful.
Last night I was in the parking lot at school (yes, I actually made it to class last night). There was a car stopped in the middle of the exit, letting a girl out. I passed them on the left and made my way to the stop sign.
I sat at the stop sign waiting for the cross traffic to pass so I could turn on to the road and head home. As the traffic was beginning to clear I could see lights in my rearview window. I looked up and thought, “Please don’t hit my car.”
And then there was a big BANG. They hit me.
I put the van in park and turned off the engine. I scoured my glove box for my insurance card. Then I got out.
Two young college girls has jumped out of the car behind me. I asked her to move her car back a little so I could look at the damage. My van had no damage. Her little Accord has a busted up license plate holder and a small crack in the grill.
The driver asked me if I wanted her insurance information. I instantly thought back to that time when I was eighteen and how relieved I was that the guy let me go. I smiled at the girl and told her, “No that’s ok. Just be careful. It’s really icy out here.” And I let her go.
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Momilies Said,
February 20, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
It’s so great when you can pay it forward, isn’t it?
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Ginny Said,
February 20, 2008 @ 12:50 pm
A little over a month ago, I did that to someone. I’m not sure what happened, but I had a lot of mine. Totally hit some van. My car had tons of damage, hers had a scratch. She told me to hurry before the cops came, I was so relieved. Then a few weeks ago, someone did it to hubbies work truck. He had a tiny bit of damage, but nothing major & it is his work truck. So he did the same for her, figured it just happened to me, so he’d return the favor to someone else. Glad you didn’t have damage, vans are awesome for that. When I was a teen, a van rear ended me. My trunk was totally smashed up. The guy got out & laughed because he had this tiny little scratch. He kept saying, hey look at that I just have a scratch & your car is smashed. I was like ha ha really funny, this is my MOM’s car!
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Lis Garrett Said,
February 20, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
I had someone rearend me once on my way to work during a storm. The both of us basically shrugged it off and went on our way.
Last year, my husband backed into a parked car while the car’s owner was standing there (oops). Our van still has a small dent and a little scratch, but her car was fine. However, my husband said this lady was livid and kept yelling at him. I’ve never seem him so shaken! She was a total witch.
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Stephanie Said,
February 21, 2008 @ 10:53 am
And then you get sued because they claim you backed into their car and drove off. Sorry, it’s the cynic in me.
John Said,
February 21, 2008 @ 11:32 am
Hi Christine,
First time at the Bean Blog, I like it! – I had a very similar experience about 15 years ago. I was sitting at a light when I saw this car coming up behind me that I knew was going to hit me – and did. It was a young girl, just got her license and just GOT HER DAD’S CAR (the one she was driving) out of the shop no less. I had just come from the grocery store (still with groceries in the car). She was very upset and crying. Of course, I knew we were going to be there for a while for the police report. I had bought some kind of ice cream pops at the store, which I knew were going to melt before I got home. So I offered her one, and we sat calmly on the bank in the median eating ice cream while waiting on all of it to be over. : )
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baseballmom Said,
February 21, 2008 @ 8:26 pm
I bet she was so relieved! I once was backing up in my husband’s truck, because i had overshot a stopsign, and didn’t see the car behind me. I knocked her side mirror OFF of her car…it was hanging there, and she said, “Don’t worry about it, my car is a piece of crap anyway.” I was so happy, and thanked her about a million times! Husband was in a rear-ender the other night, and the guy he hit was a TOTAL ass. He had barely any damage to his truck, so Husband asked if we could just pay cash for him to get it fixed instead of going through insurance. The guy wouldn’t even listen to him. Luckily, the next day, he got a call from the guy, and he did allow us to pay for the damage, and sign a receipt saying that we had repaired it. The girl behind Husband hit him at the same time, but he let her go…there was really no damage to his truck. I think if people were just a little more compassionate and HUMAN, the world would be a much better place!
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Angela Klocke Said,
February 22, 2008 @ 9:40 am
Awwww…well, I never thought you were one, but still, this was very nice
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CourtneyRyan369 Said,
February 24, 2008 @ 11:46 am
Everytime someone I help says “What can I do to repay you?” I tell them “Pay it forward. Reach out to someone who needs help.” It might be me, it might be 3 years down the road to help someone else…but it feels good to know that you’ve sent some positive mojo down the way.