Kennyster

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Fate has a fickle finger, and when you're least expecting it, she can poke you in the eye.

This is going to be a pretty sad entry.

I was involved in a pretty bad traffic accident yesterday night.

My car was stationary at this cross junction along Upper Changi Rd and when the traffic light turned green, I proceeded forward.

Halfway through the junction, I suddenly felt headlights shining on my left window. I turned and this taxi just crashed right into the left passenger door of my car.

I didn't have time to do anything .. All I know was that the side air bags sprung up and my car did a 360deg spin on the spot and the boot of the car hit the traffic light.

It happened so fast.

It was bad really. Glass shards (i think it was the taxi's) was all over the road and my car door was really wrecked.

The taxi driver was apologetic and said he "did not see the traffic light" which was pure rubbish really and offered me $2000 to "settle it".

But I insisted on calling the police lah because one of his passengers was injured and had to go to the hospital and I was really angry with him because it was blatanly his fault. I mean I just moved off from a stationary position leh. How fast cld I go? 30km/h?? Plus the taxi driver went past the red light and he was speeding. There was nothing that I cld have done to prevent it.

I called my dad and he and two of my uncles came within 20 mins, which was a good thing since there were a couple of those bogus car insurance agents who were hogging me with their "offers" and I needed to write a statement for the policemen who have just arrived.

And I was glad that i did not accept the taxi driver's $2000 compensation because when the tow truck uncle came, he told me that the cost of damage would be at least $15000 ... Bastard.

It's just a freaking lousy day for me. Doing a police report at 3am in the morning, reaching home at 4.30, but facing my mum was the hardest part.

She was worried sick.

The first thing I said was that I was sorry about the car. She just smiled and gived me a hug, which was what I really needed at that time.

5hrs of surreal ordeal frantically searching for insurance documents, calling the police, calling the tow truck, going to the police station, calling my car agent.... i was really drained by the time I got home.

And i felt really comfortable in her arms, suddenly remembering those younger days when I would seek solace in her arms and sleep. And she just said that everything would be okay, that I was safe and sound was what mattered most, that no amount of compensation wld be sufficient should anything have had happened to me, that she would settle the car insurance stuff and finally that if the traffic police asked if i had any previous traffic offences, I shd say no because uncle choy actually took the rap for me for the Lornie Rd speeding incident last month.

I was speechless really. I shook my head. I couldn't speak.

What was I going to say??

That I was on the verge of tearing soon??

That what my mum had just said touched me more than what anybody had ever told me???

I felt guilty as hell.

Im insanely doted upon by my parents and yet I often take their love for granted, making more of an effort to accomodate my friends into my schedule than my mum and dad.

They are not getting any younger and yet as the years go by, Im spending less and less time with them.

I really screwed up as a son.

I go through life as if my parents were planning on living forever. As if they have a choice. I skip along my merry happy-go-lucky way, confident that when I need them, they'll be there.

But when they needed me, was I ever there for them??

Kennyster @ 10:46 AM