Taking a walk on the wild side

I didn't have a very good weekend.  It started off with great intentions.  Well, you know what they say about great intentions... they pave the way to Hell.  And that's where mine led me.

To understand the full irony of this situation, you have to indulge me a bit in my love of crosswalks.  I live in the greater D.C. metro area.  There's a ton of people, cars, and bicyclists.  And everyone (but me of course) is a freakin' idiot. 

People dart out from all directions to cross the street.  They don't look before they cross, they just go.  And they think "the pedestrian has the right of way" is the cure-all to their ignorance.  Newsflash moron!  You only have the right of way when you're legally crossing the road.  Not when you walk head-first into 4 lanes of high-speed traffic with your 4 kids in tow and you leisurely meander to the other side.  This isn't a Sunday stroll for God's sake. 

I have witnessed an old man walk right out in front of me while I'm driving, knowing I have a green light (since that's what he's looking at), 2 car-lengths away from a crosswalk.  Just to walk past where he could have legally made his way over the by-way.  I of course, being the Good Samaritan that I am, screamed at the top of my lungs that he needed to use the crosswalk or meet a perilous demise. 

It's one of my biggest pet peeves.  If you don't use a crosswalk and you walk out in front of me, I will speed up.  If there is a crosswalk 4 feet from you, don't be a lazy slug, use it.  That's what our government dollars are being used for.  Either that, or don't bitch about how your money is spent. And you had better not be a huge hypocrite and refuse to use a crosswalk, but then drive down the road and yell at others who are following your lead. 

But as it turns out, crosswalks seem to be my demise.  (I have another story I need to tell you that happened on my hiatus.  But that's for a different time.)

My latest epic crosswalk failure happened Friday evening.  After driving home from a very long day at work, I took my usual route.  I drive through this super-rich neighborhood and day-dream every day.  In this neighborhood is an uber-rich country club/golf course.  I look at all the people out there enjoying a round.  I watch as the high school golf team practices for an upcoming match on the links.  I love that drive.  And I love to look at that golf course.

Until Friday.

On this ride home, there is a randomly marked crosswalk in the middle of the road.  No street lights, just a marked crosswalk from one side of the street to the other for the large number of pedestrian traffic in the area. 

Because of my passion for crosswalk usage, if I see someone in a crosswalk, I will stop traffic to let them cross.  And actually, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, that's the law.  ***IF**** in a crosswalk (such as the random one I described), the pedestrian really does have the right of way and you're supposed to stop. 

So a teenage kid, out on his afternoon run, was waiting patiently for a break in the heavy traffic.  Seeing this, I stopped and signaled for him to cross.  And as he made is way halfway through the street I saw with my mommy-eyes something white headed straight at me. (Mommy-eyes are eyes that catch every little detail about things… You can see flying objects coming from miles away, you can see through walls to catch your kid eating dog food, and you can catch the fact that your kid has mismatched socks on at home all way from your office desk chair.)

"OH SHIT!!!!!!"

THUD!

(notice the impact mark at the top of the glass.  The cracks streak all the way down to the bottom of the glass)

Yup, that was a random golf ball flying through the fence/tree line at the beloved country club straight at my car.  I ducked, worried it would impale me through the glass or hit me square in the head, Sir Newton style, through the sunroof. 

I got hit by a freakin' golf ball!  Right in the windshield!  I pull over and start freaking out.  What the hell do I do now?  I called Abby.

Do I turn back? Uh yeah, that would be the best plan of attack.  And as I turn around, there are the golfers, digging through the weeds at the fence, looking for their ball.

I roll down my window and shout, are you looking for a ball?  Uh yeah, why?  Well it just hit my freakin' car! 

OH.  Well, pull around and I'll meet you in the parking lot.

Turns out the guy is a Senior VP for a very large, well known bank.  He's in charge of the insurance department!

And as he said, it happens all the time!  Great, I'm glad I could be just another notch on your golf club buddy!!!

So now we're in the fun insurance claim phase.  Don't worry, he's filed a claim and it will be taken care of.  And honestly, if he tried to swindle me, you'd be the first to know!  $530.64 later, I need an all new windshield. 

Did I mention that I was planning on taking my car to the dealership on Saturday to trade it in for a new car?  Yeah, that kind of changed the value of my vehicle... so I guess I'll be waiting for the replacement before I trade in.

Oh, and did I also mention I'm leaving next weekend for a 9-week school in a different state?  I'll be home on weekends, but I don't really have time to mess around with waiting for the seal to set on a new windshield on one of my free weekends.

And did I also forget to mention that it's been raining half the weekend?  And the glass is leaking a bit?  No biggie, since I left my sunroof open (again) in the rain and now my seats are soaked through. 

I'm pretty sure my Jeep doesn't want to be sold.  And I'm pretty sure I need a glass of wine.  Scratch that, I need the whole damn bottle!

Come hang out with me!