This has been an interesting day.
Because we are....uhhh....
completely out of shape old, and just the tiniest bit....uhhh.....
lazy unmotivated, we have sort of let our yard get....uhhh....
totally out of hand slightly overgrown for the last....uhhhh....
almost eleven few years. It wasn't intentional exactly but even with the on-again-off-again drought and an almost complete lack of attention the darned trees and bushes and shrubs just kept on growing!
So we finally couldn't take it anymore and knew we would never manage to get ourselves out there to do what was needed, we hired a tree and landscaping service to trim, trim, trim! And then trim some more! The owner of the service (who is suffering from the economy and lack of work because of the drought) offered us a really great deal and we jumped on it.
It took 2-3 guys three half-days to fill up their 10' trailer completely three times with branches and brush. We have a goodly number of trees on the property (about1/3 acre). I think it is about 18 or 20. And more bushes and shrubs than I can count from memory.
Those guys worked like Trojans (not THAT kind of Trojan...sheesh!) to get it all done, loaded, cleaned up, and carted away. but it looks wonderful!! Nothing is scraping the roof anymore, you can actually see all of the sidewalks. and our house no longer looks like Tarzan's second home!
They did a great job and several neighbors complimented us on how good it looks. A few even talked to the owner to have some work done in their yards. So it was a real win-win situation.
In the process of talking to several of the neighbors (which rarely happens around here), I met the new little dog that has moved in across the street. Such a cutie you wouldn't believe! It is the offspring of a Shit-zu mix and a Toy Poodle and is referred to as a "Teddy Bear". About the size of a fully grown tea-cup poodle, but very fluffy, she was nestled between the neighbors feet as we chatted and she was shorter than the owner's foot! So adorable!
Of course, I had no access to a camera to record either of these activities.
So after everything settled down and got back to normal, I went off to do some stuff. Had a nice lunch at Chili's (have you had their chicken enchilada soup? Delicious!!) I got back in my car to drive to another section of the shopping area. I stopped at the stop sign, looked both ways, saw it was clear, was nearly across the 4-lane road when BAM! I got hit on the left side of the car by someone I had not seen! I looked I swear, but I thought it was clear. Either way, she hit my car at about the front wheel well and push me about five feet to the right. This the first major accident I have ever had and I have been driving nearly every day for at least 43 or 44 years!!
I don't believe she even tried to stop or avoid hitting me! There were no skid marks, no horn, I heard no brakes squealing, just BAM!
I am fine. She is fine. Our cars are not! Neither one is drivable. My cute little Kia is all smashed on the right front side. Her car appeared to have about twice the damage mine did. We called the police (well, she called because, of course, my cell phone was dead!) He was very nice and helpful. Except for the part where he gave me the ticket! In the state of Texas who hits who is not the criteria for responsibility. it is who has the right of way. And she had the right of way and I got the ticket!
I mentioned that I neither saw nor heard and evidence of her trying to stop, slow, or swerve, just BAM! The officer told me that in Texas, the driver who has the right of way is NOT OBLIGATED TO EVEN TRY TO STOP!! WHAT???
I am not going to argue the ticket, I obviously did not look closely enough for traffic from that direction, I shouldn't have been there. My fault. I get that.
But not even trying to avoid the accident?? That just seems ridiculous to me. Suppose my car had broken down in that spot, would she have been free to smash into me then, just because she had the right of way??? Absurd! "Oh, it's okay to run over the kid who darts out in the street, after all, you had the right of way!" That is outrageous.
I was looking straight ahead while I was crossing the intersection and I was about 2/3 of the way across the street when she smashed directly into me. It's bad enough that I didn't see her approaching, but either she was distracted (on the phone?? looking in her purse?? putting on make up?? I've seen people doing all of those things and more while driving) or she seriously needs to have her vision checked or as I have suspected at other times, I have become invisible!!
There is no other possibility. I was directly in her path, how could she NOT see me?? Or maybe she just knew she had the right of way and figured I didn't matter!!
This morning was a lot more fun than this afternoon! But hey, doesn't my yard look nice?
The fire's spread was aided by the city's overuse of wood for building, a drought prior to the fire, and strong winds from the southwest that carried flying embers toward the heart of the city. The city also made fatal errors by not reacting soon enough and citizens were apparently unconcerned when it began. The firefighters were also exhausted from fighting a fire that happened the day before. The firefighters fought the fire through the entire day and became extremely exhausted. Eventually the fire jumped to a nearby neighborhood and began to devastate mansions, houses and apartments. Almost everything that crossed the fire's path was made of wood, that had been dried out for quite a while. The fire eventually got to the River where it mostly stopped, as the River served as a natural firebreak and protected the North Side from burning as well. After two days of the city burning down it began to rain and doused the remaining fire. It is said that over 300 people died in the fire and over 100,000 were left homeless. It was devastating to the city and it's people, but it lead to development of the best trained firefighters and a stringent fire code which is maintained even now.
