CR-RUNCH!

    As I think I mentioned, we're supposed to have a blizzard today. For that reason, dialysis asked Dad if he could come in early and he could manage a half hour earlier than usual, which is at least something. I dropped him off, and though there was a vast number of people in the waiting area, they got him back for dialysis pretty quickly. I got in my car, started it, backed up-- and immediately whammed into a pickup truck that hadn't been there seconds earlier. We got out, looked at the damage, exchanged insurance information, and waited on the police. My car had more of a scratch than a dent. His truck, much newer and nicer had a slight dent to the wheel well, I guess you would call it. Anyway, not quite the fender.
    We were not exactly jumping up and down shaking our fists. Our only problem was that it was cold. I was willing to lend him my gloves; he was willing to lend me his pen. The policeman who came was also genial. He told us to wait in our vehicles and he'd have us on the road in 20 minutes, which he more or less lived up to. He gave me my FR-10 and told me to send it to my insurance company. My last accident was in the era before personal printers, when the policeman would tell you you would get a copy of the incident report, but you never did. I can't cope with all this efficiency.
    Anyway, I called USAA and they told me they would prefer me to fax it to them and mail in the hard copy to the DMV. I said that I don't have a fax or scanner, but I could put it in the box at the main post office and it should reach them in plenty of time. (DMV might pull my license if they don't get it in 15 days.) Thing is, I was so flummoxed, I just mailed it to them untouched, realizing later that I was supposed to fill in some blanks.
    This might be a good time to mention that while we were sitting in our vehicles, both cars were running, but his was parked backward, so his tailpipe was right by my air intake. I've been a bit nauseous ever since. Perhaps my brain was a bit affected as well. Anyway, I've been a bit off my game. Regardless, another USAA rep called me while I was in the park on my pre-blizzard walk, and we worked though the details of the accident again. He warned me that my rates might go up a bit, but I had expected as much. Mr. Watson will get his truck fixed up and will get to ride in a rental in the interim. I will try hard not to hit it.