Sunday, March 25, 2007

Timing

Timing really is everything.

I took the kids to their usual children's choir practice tonight, and as we were coming home, turning the corner onto our street, I went by my husband's grandpa's house. I had noticed the police car with blinking lights, but thought it odd that the car the policeman had apparently pulled over was behind his car...hmm...

Rounding the corner, I saw a ginormous tow truck in grandpa's driveway, with a car on it. At this point my mind started to race...was it his car, broken? Judy's (my MIL) car...nope, it was black. As I went around the tow truck, which was sticking out into the street, I saw a big hole in his house, right through and under the front window. Now when we came through it was dark, but my husband had been there taking pictures...here's what happened.







Someone had driven right through grandpa's yard, through the posts on his front porch, and into his living room!
Now, here's where timing comes in...God's timing. Grandpa, happily, was in the kitchen. So, while was was shocked to hear the big crash and breaking glass, he wasn't run over. His chair, where he sits to read most of the day, was about 3 feet past where the car stopped. Everything in the living room was, of course, moved about 4 feet...the other recliner, the organ, and of course, the window itself.
Grandpa had been married to grandma for 50 years when, in 1987, she developed colon cancer and passed away 7 months later. Her little bric-a-brac that had been in the window (she collected little glass things...elephants and eggs and such) was on the floor, but unharmed. And the little window hanging you see in the picture is perfectly okay, too.
The driver, when interviewed by the policeman (who looked about 13, but did a great job), said he had been driving 25 miles an hour. HA!!! Sure. Right. NOT. I don't buy that. I still don't know how you can come around a corner (and these are city block corners, not rural, rolling hills corners) and drive into a house with your car in that position. And the really weird thing is, right next to the window, to the right, is the driveway. He missed grandpa's car by inches, too.
Well, that was grandpa's evening. As for me, like I said, I took the kids to choir practice and then played Farkle with our regular group of Farkle players, other choir parents, while the kids practiced. Farkle is fun...I'll post how to play later.
As for you, I hope you have a great day/night.

2 comments:

Tori :) said...

I am so glad everyone was ok. How the heck do you drive a car into a house??

Help I need a user name! said...

Yeah...we're STILL trying to figure that one out. He's on a corner, but still, that's one heck of a turn at any of the angles...he came straight into the house, not on an angle.

Meanwhile, grandpa's house will soon be repaired. The magic fairies at the insurance company are hiring movers to pack his things in the living room & dining room, painters to paint both rooms and the outside of the house so they match the old paint, carpet cleaners, carpenters, window people...I didn't realize all there was to fix when this happens!