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I received a message from a good friend of mine this morning. We chatted online for a bit then he sent me this picture of his SUV. This happened on Friday.
Kirt's Wreck
He was waiting at a red light to turn left when someone coming the other way drifted out of his lane and tagged him doing 40 miles per hour. The crumple zones and airbags all worked as designed. Note that not a single pane of glass is broken. The engine has actually started down under the vehicle, causing the steering wheel to be almost verticle. Kirt walked away from this with only bumps and bruises.
The scary thing to think about. In my classic mini cooper this would have been a serious injury accident. I would not have walked away from a head on hit at 40mph. No crumple zones, no airbags, and 1/3 the mass. Makes a person stop and think.
I took a brief trip to the states this weekend. Flew to the states on Thursday and back on Sunday. International travel is supposed to be a grand adventure. Not! I don’t know about anyone else, but sleeping on a plane is almost impossible for me. Too uncomfortable.
Day 1.
Thursday.
- 7am. Get kids up and ready for school
9am. Back from dropping kids off. Get some breakfast.
10am. Head for airport.
1pm. Get on plane in Edinburgh and head for Newark New Jersey.
9pm (4pm EDT). Arrive in Newark.
1am (9pm EDT). Finally head for Knoxville. Wind delays.
3:45am (11:45pm EDT) Arrive Knoxville. Get car 15 minutes before Budget closes for the night. Leave only blood glucose meter on plane in back pocket of seat.
5am (1am EDT) Arrive Oak Ridge, get into hotel, take shoes off. Iron clothes for tomorrow. Drink beer and crash.
Total Day. 22 hours.
Day 2. (Switch to EDT for simplicity)
Friday.
- Awake at 4:30am, 5am, 5:45, 6:00.
6:15am. Finally decide to get up. 5 hours of sleep total.
Busy day. 9 interviews and a 220 mile drive to Clarksville, TN.
3:00am. Go to bed.
Total Day. 21 hours.
Day 3.
- Up at 9am. 6 hours of sleep.
Spend the day wandering around Clarksville and seeing old friends.
- 12:30 am. Go to bed.
Total Day. 15 1/2 hours.
Day 4.
- 5:00 am. Pack, shower, grab coffee.
220 mile drive to Knoxville, TN.
11:30 am. Check into airport.
1:30 pm. Roll out onto tarmac and stop.
Wind delay in Newark. Plane won’t leave til 2:54pm. Male passenger starts yelling at stewardis. Female (New Yorker) starts yelling at male passenger. Things get ugly. Plane goes back to terminal. Cops arrive, take statements, male passenger not seen again, mouthy New York female still on board. Plane rolls back onto tarmac and we finally fly out at 2:55pm for Newark, NJ.
5:00 pm. Arrive Newark NJ.
8:00 pm. Take off for Edinburgh.
2:30 am. (7:30 am GDT) Arrive in Edinburgh.
4:00 am. (9:00 am GDT) Arrive home.
Total Day. 23 hours.
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