Nothing is Wasted

There was no time to think or to plan. It was all reaction. A non-thinking, muscle memory, instinctive reaction and it probably saved our lives. We were traveling I-295 West on the South side of Jacksonville, headed for I-10. We were, or I should say I was, driving a bit faster than the speed limit as I kept pace with the traffic. We were in the left lane of the three-lane interstate. There was a black car in front of us three to four car-lengths ahead. I noticed the white car about a ¼ mile ahead parked on the shoulder between the concrete retaining wall and our traffic lane and as we got closer, I realized it was a sheriff’s car. Shortly after that, another sheriff’s cruiser sped by in the center lane, cut to the left lane in front of the car ahead of me and hit the brakes hard.

In that instant, the car in front of me slammed on the brakes. I slammed on my brakes. I glanced at the rear-view mirror to see the green Camry behind me had slammed on his brakes and swerved violently to the middle lane. Relieved that I would not have to fear being sandwiched in the collision, I turned my attention again to the car ahead. The sheriff’s officer, still riding the brakes, slid into the median in front of the parked cruiser. The black car let off the brakes and the few feet of distance between us began to widen.
After it was over, I was talking in excited tones to my wife…ok, I was really yelling about how stupid the officer was to pull such a stunt. He came very close to causing at least a three-car pile up at 70 miles per hour on the interstate and I was angry. Angry that someone sworn to protect public safety had so foolishly put our safety at risk. But that was after.

During the event, I could only react. Forty-plus years since driver’s ed. Forty-plus years of driving experience. Forty-plus years of long days on the interstate. Forty-plus years of dirt, gravel, concrete and asphalt. Forty-plus years of sunshine, rain, snow and black ice. Forty-plus years of watching several cars ahead as I drive. Forty plus years of moving the foot from the accelerator to the brake and back again. Forty-plus years of checking the rear-view mirror frequently as I drove. In an instant, all those mundane activities and experiences became vitally important. In that moment, all those years of repetitive motion and routine actions paid off as I instantly reacted to avoid slamming into the car in front of me.

Life is a lot like that. A lot of mundane, routine things happen. A lot of difficult and painful experiences happen. And not only do they sometimes make no sense, oft times they seem so meaningless that we don’t even make an effort to make sense of them. And then, in an instant you become aware that all those things have prepared you for this moment.

Blessings to you all,

Jerald