In 1990, Tennessee was hit with a devastating day. In an unexpected fog on highway I-75, two semi trucks collided, and in the midst of the fog, started a 99 car pileup. This pileup is still the largest car accident in Tennessee history. The article presents the events in a terrifying way, almost as if you were in a movie. The author shares interviews with people that survived the crash and police officers that responded to the hundreds of calls dialing 911 and gasping for the breath to say ‘help.’
I read this article this morning when I was in Chattanooga. I was visiting my Grandma for her 85th birthday with my family, and my dad’s extended family. I discussed the article with my grandmother and she remembered it like it was yesterday. She was not in the crash and lives south of the crash site, but she was connected to it in some way, and so was I, although I did not know at the time…
In 1990, on December 5th, my mother and father were living in Knoxville, Tennessee. My dad was working almost all hours of the day and my two older brothers were two and three years old. I was not even born yet. My mom was planning ahead on Christmas and wanted to travel down to Chattanooga on my grandma’s birthday and they were going to go shopping in a famous mall in Chattanooga. To get there, my mom was going to drive down I-75. With no knowledge of the fog, my mother was going to drive down early in the morning.
Then on the early morning of December 5th, my mom called my dad at work before she left the house. He told her something that she had forgotten to do, and had to change her plans on the day. She called up her mother-in-law and apologetically said that she could come down and they would have to shop another time. About an hour later, the crash began.
It was figured that my mom would have been in the crash or just missed the crash if she had made the trip down to Chattanooga that day. My grandma said this morning “I don’t know what kept her that day,” but then she said “It was God.”
Anything can happen on any given day that can affect us for the rest of our lives it seems. Anything can happen, good or bad. Car accidents happen every day, even though ‘it would never happen to me.’ Teens especially.
I mean even your hero can be in a car accident…
Drew Harris is my Hero.
-B
Amazing! That really shows that everthing we do has an effect... even forgetting to something can save someone from heartache and suffering. I really like your post this week. It is thoughtful, contemplative, and well written -- even down to the ending.
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