I guess I'm lucky

We like to moan about our misfortune. Whether it's our inability to win playing McDonald's Monopoly (I know, I know, Boardwalk doesn't exist, the fix is in!) or something as simple as not getting picked to participate at a school assembly, we make sure everybody knows how unlucky we are.

I'm one of those people. I "never win anything." I "have the worst luck."

Well, I'm done with that lifestyle. I'll take the luck I had Friday over winning a cool mill from McDonald's anytime.
(Yeah, sorry, this isn't a sports post. But it got me writing on here again, so take heart if that's what you were looking for)

On Friday I was driving to cover a football game for my job. It was a long drive, but I was going because the paper in that area had said they wouldn't be there. Football is one of our more important coverages during the fall, so my Editor said if I wanted to go, I could go. I decided to make the trip, because I thought it would win me brownie points and I would get to see another part of Colorado I hadn't yet.

Well, the drive was nothing short of spectacular. Once again, CO did not disappoint. Until it wasn't spectacular.

While rounding a curve, I hit a patch of gravel (I think) and lost control of my car. I slid across the road (brakes and steering giving no love) and off the other side. My car started to roll before coming to rest upside down. It happened very quickly.

I was hanging by my seatbelt, unbuckled it and crawled out of back window of my car, which had been shattered and was no longer there. This happened immediately, I was not unconscious for any amount of time. In fact, I was almost completely untouched.

Afterward, I had all sorts of people telling me they couldn't believe I was alive, or couldn't believe I was okay. I have no idea how accurate that is. It sounds melodramatic to me, because I was fine, and got out of the car with no problems. But this is what I know: The car flipped about 180 degrees before landing off the road about 15-20 feet down. It appears the driver's side of the cab landed first on a boulder. The roof caved in a pretty significant amount. I didn't notice it at the time, but that roof was probably not very far from the top of my head. So it's fair to say my seatbelt saved me from a head trauma of some degree.

What happened after is where I really feel lucky. I crashed in the middle of nowhere, about 5.5 hours from Craig, and had absolutely no idea what to do. But a couple guys were not far behind me, and they had been working on that road. They saw the crash and helped me out. They set me up with another nearby man they knew who was a volunteer with the local fire rescue. If Bradly Littlejohn and I had crossed paths under different circumstances, I doubt we would have exchanged more than a couple sentences. But here was Brad, chauffeurring me all over the place--taking me to get checked out by the EMTs, then to a hotel for the night, then to the car rental agency the next morning.

I've never been in a situation even close to that before. I have no clue what I would have done. I didn't have phone service where I crashed. But some complete strangers helped me out, and went way beyond their call. And I'm back home because of it.

I don't know what's gonna happen over the next couple weeks. I'm going to need to get a new car in all likelihood. It's going to be inconvenient. But I'm feeling as good as I always do, thanks to the kindness of some cats I've never met before, and a whole lot of luck. Yep, I'm lucky after all.