I have always thought that I had a “sixth sense” about “stuff”. A “Jazz”, as I call it. The ability to, among other things, know what is going to happen before it happens (not necessarily specifics), or know what is going on in someone’s head. You could also call it a “heightened awareness”. I’ve always written it off to coincidence, for the most part. But in the last while, I’m not so sure.
Two recent examples have me thinking “hmmm” (see Arsenio Hall-look it up). Not too long ago, on a Friday afternoon, a feeling came over me that something impactful was going to happen in my world. No clue what, but, well, something. Positive or negative, not sure. One the following Monday I received news that a good friend of mine had, all of a sudden, experienced a major change in their professional life. And to them, it was impactful. As she is a friend, I too was impacted. At the moment I heard about my friend’s situation, I said to myself, that’s it!
This past Friday (as I write this, it is March 21, 2012), the same feeling came over me again. Somewhere in my world, something was going to happen. No specific, but a strong sense once again.
Today I had my truck at my mechanic (everyone who drives has a “my mechanic”) for an oil change. While waiting for the work to be completed, I sat outside in the beautiful Spring weather, writing another one of my stories. All of a sudden, a car zipped by me at a high rate of speed. The auto shop is in a plaza. This kid was flying! Far beyond what is acceptable for a plaza parking lot. There were multiple late teen occupants in the car, carrying on, hooting and hollering, having a great time. The driver decided that he did not want to sit behind a slower moving vehicle. He passed the slower vehicle, traversing around a parking “Island” in the lot. Just as he completed the pass, he crashed head on into a minivan travelling in the opposite direction. No brakes, nothing, a direct hit at an accelerated rate of speed. The incident itself took seconds to unfold from the time the car passed my location. By comparison, it took a lot longer to write this paragraph.
The driver of the car at fault (in my humble opinion) acted in a completely careless manner. His front seat passenger’s head went right into the windshield. He was almost ejected from the vehicle. Sustained a nasty head wound and potentially, a concussion. The other passengers in the offending vehicle were shaken up, but otherwise fine. The driver of the vehicle that was hit was also shaken up, but fine.
The kid driving the offending vehicle is completely at fault. He drove carelessly, recklessly and with no regard for the surroundings.
Now, the kicker to all of this you ask? Because this accident happened in a plaza parking lot, it is considered private property. Charges (I’m thinking, at the very least, Careless Driving) cannot be laid, because it happened on private property (sensing a theme?). The only resolution is a 50/50 settlement between Insurance companies. That, again, in my humble opinion, is complete and utter bullshit!
This kid could have killed somebody, including one of his buddies in HIS vehicle. I called 911, and once the usual emergency services arrived (guess which hall the fire truck came from?), I volunteered my information to the investigating police officer. And, again, because the accident happened on private property, no formal statement was required.
I introduced myself to the driver of the vehicle that was hit, as well as her husband, who arrived shortly afterwards. We exchanged contact information. I assured them that, should they decide to pursue this matter, I have made note of everything I saw and would be happy to volunteer as a witness. Given all that I have been through recently, my accounts of the incident would, no doubt be thorough and compelling.
In the last year and a bit, I have seen, experienced and felt a whole bunch of things that I never thought I would ever encounter. Increased awareness of this “heightened sense” I spoke of earlier is a very cool thing. I don’t write it off anymore. When it pops up, I listen. I make a mental note of it. When something does happen, I connect the dots.
Hopefully, this awareness has a balance to it. I don’t want to feel only negative stuff.
Wasn’t there a movie made about that already?
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