Yesterday, my wife Lisa and I set off on a journey--our destination was the wedding reception of my long-time friend Chad (gaining on thirty years, what?) and his wonderful new bride Tanya. The festivities were held at a winery in the town of Plymouth, CA. Well, that's a drive of approximately three and a half hours each way for us, and I'd still managed to give the theatre a couple of hours of rehearsal time before we set off, so of course I had my rounds of grumbling "if this were anybody else, yada yada yada...," none of which I actually meant. I'm your friend, I'll move heaven and earth for you, and Chad and Tanya know that.
NEVERTHELESS, things STILL didn't quite go according to plan. And for that, we have Mapquest to thank. Due to some bit of technical genius, entering the (correct) address of the winery on Bell Road into that application ACTUALLY sends you to a tiny dirt road (which ALSO happens to be named "Bell") several miles off course. Finding ourselves frustrated and quite lost, we made it all the way to the neighboring town of Amador before we turned around to regain our bearings. And as we were making our turnaround, a pair of bikers came up the road--we politely waved at them to pass us before moving on and thought nothing more of it.
But as we wound our way back to Plymouth, there were the two bikers in the road in front of us again, frantically waving at us to stop. And no wonder--we had just arrived at the scene of a truly horrific accident. According to the accounts we gathered, this involved an unfortunate deer and a hit-and-run driver, the latter of which had sent the former straight through the windshield of a vehicle containing four youngsters (two gals and two guys). None of us (bikers included) had actually seen this take place--we were simply the first to witness the aftermath (the bikers had already called 911).
The vehicle had gone off the road and straight through the wooden fence of an adjoining property. Three of the four victims had already struggled to the side of the road on their own power--the fourth remained in the back seat in a daze. While the bikers, the property owner and I got the three to lie down and provided pillows and blankets with whatever we had handy (including my jacket), Lisa was on the case providing skilled "first response" to the fellow still in the car.
Let me just say right now that I don't believe I've ever been prouder of my wife. This fellow eventually defied advice (who could blame him?) and got up to join his friends--Lisa helped him down and saw to it that he stayed put... she also provided leg elevation, support and information as needed.
Meanwhile, of the three the rest of us were looking after, the younger girl (who looked 16 but said she was 13) was terrified and in pain, but neither she or the other young man appeared to have any serious injuries. The young lady who was driving at the time, however, was considerably more battered--and what's more, she was getting sleepy. And in a case like this, one thing you DON'T want the victim to do is fall asleep before the pros take over. So after the initial hand-holding and reassurance, I simply did what came naturally... I let my "Remo D." persona loose... ladies and gentlemen, it was time for comedy and trivia!!!
Q: What's red and goes up and down, up and down?
Honest to goodness, I opened with that old favorite... went on to more tomato jokes and my standard string of bartender jokes... and from there, it was anecdotes regarding how the Marx Brothers got their names, what it's like to 'live host' theatrical films, and where they could see me on-line. Yes, I was playing the clown as a diversion, but the important thing was that the traumatized young ladies not only laughed--but laughed in response to the specific punchlines, which meant that their brains were still "on the case." And I am very happy to report that all four of the victims were awake and alert as the ambulances, police cars and fire trucks arrived... we let the paramedics do their thing (though I still couldn't resist warning the youngest girl not to steal my jacket) and saw them off as arriving helicopters looked for a place to land for a necessary airlift for the two most seriously injured youngsters.
Incidentally, other people stopped to help along the way (before the road was almost completely barricaded)... and one car consisted of a group heading for the same reception we were--who had ALSO gotten Mapquested off course--they went on ahead and explained the situation to the wedding party.
Yes, we finally got there--we ended up spending less than an hour in Chad and Tanya's company, but it was all worth it and all completely understood. We were there in time for the toasts, the cutting of the cake and the "first dances." Lisa and I weren't prepared to "party hardy" and had to face the drive home... but it still worked out.
And if we HADN'T been misdirected, we WOULDN'T have been where it turns out we really were needed. One for the "things happen for a reason" file, no two ways about it.
I am truly AMAZED (considering the severity of the accident) that there were no fatalities involved (I fully intend to follow up on the incident and keep tabs on our new friends for as long as is necessary.) I am truly GRATEFUL to the two "road angels" who stopped us and summoned help--we even saw them again when we stopped for gas and directions and reassured them that things were being taken care of. I am truly PROUD of my wonderful wife.
And while nobody would have WANTED anything like this to happen to anyone, I am in full recognition of a life-affirming (and changing) experience. The smile I put on for the benefit of my "audience" didn't leave my face for the rest of the night.
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But this is still the "RemoD66" blog, and I still have some presents for you... two debuts and a bevy of encores!
Please bid a fond welcome to KittyMiau...
...and SubstanceM!
SG Rockezi is rockin' easier than ever...
Cynamin catches some waves...
Samanie tugs at the "Heart Strings..."
and as for _Delia_? Wow. Just wow.
Share that love--I certainly know that I am!
All my very best,
Remo D.
TICK TICK TICK!!!