A Lesson Learned From Sinking Metal

I was driving my car to the airport. I needed to reach my terminal a bit early as parking at DFW can be a total nightmare. In my rush I ended up getting off at the wrong exit. I needed terminal B and I was headed towards rental cars. I stepped on the gas; I needed to find a way to turn around. I sped through the single lane track and passed signs for AVIS, Enterprise and others.  I could find no way out.

I snaked passed Budget Rental, the last in the row. There was a police officer directing traffic in and out of the parking garage. As I passed he yelled at me as I had gone through a stop sign. I didn’t care too much as he was on foot. He couldn’t catch me and I didn’t kill anyone, no harm no foul.

My windows were down and I could hear him yelling dis-pleasures at me. That I needed to stop and he was going to get into his car to try and catch me. I did not have time for this. I ignored him, certain that there was no chance he would ever see me again. I sped up to ensure that this would be true.

Up ahead there was a decision to be made. Two paths: the road went straight or veered off to the right. There was not a sign for me to read so I could tell which was the right decision. I did not slow down. At the last second I decided to go right, no straight. I went straight and the road I was on turned out to be no road at all.

The road started to narrow and quick. On my left was an embankment. On my right was a large drop off that fell to a river. Just as fast as I could tell my brain to tell my foot to hit the brakes I was jolted. My tire had risen up on the left curb. The embankment quickly grew and my car was raised. It was raised higher and higher until I was speeding along at a forty five degree angle. The remaining pavement left for my right tire disappeared from underneath it. My vehicle and I spun out into the air a hundred feet above the water.

The Chevy landed wheels down and splashed heavily into the river, the great gob of metal sinking fast. My only thought was hoping that when I hit the bottom, it wouldn’t hurt. I braced for impact. No impact came. Whatever body of water I landed in was clear as spring water and deep as a canyon. I unbuckled. I checked myself, I was completely unharmed. I climbed out my window and started to swim. I looked up to see the sun glistening off the water. Its reflection told me I could make it to the top.

I don’t know if I ever made it out. The brightness of the sun woke me up and I was lying dry in my Dallas apartment.  That terrifying event had been nothing more than a dream, a quick, screeching dream from an afternoon nap.

I am not sure what to take from it. What was my mind trying to tell me? Is my sub conscious just trying to wake me up, to wake me up and urge me to do something productive? Could my brain just have been entertaining itself with a quick action movie? Was it something deeper yet?

Was I trying to tell myself to slow down before I make decisions? To make sure I know what I am doing and where I am going. Was I warning myself that not doing so could result in losing control and landing in some icy unknown? I imagine so.

I would just like to thank my neurons for sending me a message. I appreciate the lecture brain. Yours are much more entertaining and vivid than the ones I get from my parents. They didn’t do a bad job. It’s just your ability to make it feel so real is very effective.

Single Post Navigation

← Older Entry

Newer Entry →