Did the road next to our lot became ‘pairs’ four weeks ago? I’m not sure, but in the first week we’ve had two wrecks, and then, wreck number three got my attention. I was writing my weekly letters to some favorite Methodists and heard a big BAM outside. I looked out the kitchen window and saw two vehicles at odd angles just past the corner of Lemon Street and John Frank Ward Blvd. I took a quick walk up there and saw a police car arrive with blue lights flashing. I checked out the cars from a distance and it didn’t seem like anyone was injured. But the gray Infiniti had a lot of damage to the front end and was facing the wrong way. The Nissan was up off the road facing in the other direction and I saw some children crying as they exited their vehicle. I couldn’t believe that some of the people coming into town were turning left onto Lemon Street where the sign clearly said DO NOT ENTER! I waved at them, but they kept going. Then a man in a big four door pickup pulled to a stop blocking the traffic, got out, kicked the car debris off to the side, then got back in his vehicle and headed toward town, in the right direction, NOT down Lemon Street. I’m glad he knew what to do and took control without any directions from the police or EMT’s, who were helping the passengers. I’m not sure what happened but I’m sure the officers driving the two police cars handled the situation.
I’ve noticed a couple of people heading down the pairs in the wrong direction and have seen a lot of people driving very fast as they pass the Henry Hilton! So, maybe we need some more DO NOT ENTER signs on the other side of John Frank Ward Blvd. It also might help to have those little signs that show your vehicle’s speed limit. Several times as I’m returning from my Publix run, I’ve seen trucks and cars shooting past me and I’m running the 35 MPH limit.
Well, guess what? Five weeks and we now have four wrecks. I’m so glad I saw a police car watching the traffic today, and I did notice the commuters weren’t driving quite as fast. I always pray for those EMTs and police as they rush to the ones involved in the latest crash, so I lifted up some more prayers today as the red ambulances rushed behind our street.
Now I am extra careful exiting our driveway. I look left, look right, then look left again; which I learned from taking the senior driving lesson online. I’d taken the driver test and got a 14 out of 15 which advised me I needed to take their lesson. Of course I’m not leaving every day like I did before this virus. Now I limit my Publix runs to maybe three a week, and still no church on Sundays. I will take my 18-year-old cat Shadow to the vet this week though. She started howling a lot, and then I noticed her bumping into furniture. I looked this up on the internet and learned she might be blind. I used a flashlight on her, as advised, and her eyes did not dilate at all. She has gone to the front door a couple of times, but can’t figure out which side is which and the information I read says not to let them out anymore once the blindness occurs. This is a particularly good idea, especially with the extra traffic on our street.
Well, one more addition to my prayer list, His guidance on Shadow, and of course for our USA and ALL our elected officials. And once again, I wonder what’s next?
