what part of “no left turn” do you not understand?

I was sitting in my office on Friday. I wasn’t supposed to be sitting there, I was supposed to be up north, interviewing two witnesses for a trial on Monday. But the trial was canceled at the last minute, so there I was. At about 3:20, my phone rang. It was my daughter. Or rather, it was her phone. An unfamiliar voice greeted me.

“Is this John?”

“Yes.”

“I’m calling for you daughter. She’s been involved in a little fender-bender.”

I asked her for the location of the accident. She told me, and I was out of the office like a shot. Fortunately, it was only a couple miles away.

She was okay, just a little shaken up. She complained of some head and neck pain, but thankfully nothing major (so far, anyway). The car had been knocked a lane and a half. According to a witness at the scene, the driver of the other vehicle attempted to make a left turn out of a drug store parking lot and hit my daughter, who was in the left westbound lane. Apparently the guy who was in the right westbound lane waved the other driver on, probably thinking the he was turning right, which is what you’re supposed to do from that exit, as it’s clearly marked “NO LEFT TURN.” If you want to go left out of the parking lot, you’re supposed to use another exit, on the other side of the lot. That one’s (not coincidentally) near a traffic light. I guess that jackwagon was in too much of a hurry to make the arduous 200 yard trek to the proper exit. Asshole.

So, needless to say, I’m not a happy camper. I’ll be meeting with an appraiser from the insurance company this week. I’m hoping they elect to pay for repairing the car. If they decide to total it, the check for the value of the car will pay off the loan, but then we’re out a car.  And I’m in no mood to go car shopping.