Who Knows

Last week my fiancee' and I bought a used car, a nice used car, for us at least, and yesterday I wrecked it. Immediatly after the collision I could see how much damage I had done to the other car. Which didn't exactly make me too excited to step out and see what I had done to my quazi-new vehicle. But eventually, after a few choice explitives directed at myself, I muscled up the strength to get out and take a glance at the injuries I had inflicted upon my baby. My whole front end was crunched up. Head lights and blinkers shattered paint chips crackling off. It was enough to make me jump into oncoming traffic, but instead I walked up to the other drivers car and with as big a smile as I could muster, I asked if he was alright. He said he was fine and continued the examination of his badly crushed trunk. Up until that moment he had a fairly nice used car also, which I soon came to find out that he too had just purchased the week before. So there we stood gazing at our beautiful beasts, that only moments ago were gleaming with the proud looks of finely detailed fairly new vehicles, and that were now crushed, tattered and bruised. We were alone in this moment of sadness, all we had was each other for the few short minutes before the police arrived. I felt bad for the kid, for a person of his age a car is the ultimate belonging, because, well that's usually all that an eighteen year old can own, except maybe the shoes on his feet and a few other minor items that he's able to scrounge up at whatever low paying, self humiliating, crappy job that I can only assume may be the place of employment of such an adult toddler. However as I look back I don't think I should've felt the misery I was feeling. The facts were very clear, I had rear-ended him. I was going to be the one paying for this mess, not him. My insurance rates were going to go through the roof not his. Yet there I was wracking my brain over this situation apologizing to everyone, the kid, the police, my fiancee' even the kids girlfriends mom, and yet they had no words of comfort for me. No sorry that you picked such high premiums, no sorry that I slammed on my brakes in front of you causing you to hit me. Nothing. Now I'm not saying it was the youngsters fault or even that he owes me any apologies, all I'm trying to get through to you, is that no matter how bad your situation is always think about the guy who rear-ended you.