Believe I have written about this before.  My default.  I tell everyone I know who’s hitting the road typically, to drive safely.

It drives some people nuts (my dad), because of course, ‘they always do’.  ‘They’ve never been in an accident.’  So why would I tell them that unless I thought they were a bad driver?

It doesn’t necessarily have to be them/you/us causing the problem ..

Not far into our drive to South Dakota last Friday afternoon, my phone rings.  It’s a number I don’t recognize.  I pick up.

“Hey .. ”

“Hey,” I reply.  “Who is this?”

“It’s R.  How’s the drive going?  Where are you guys?”, a dear friends daughter asks.  (This is a daughter of one of my closest girlfriends and the woman who is somewhat responsible for the party going on even though it had been un-planned.  She and her significant other simply wanted to come out and spend time with us if we were up for it despite the party being postponed.)

I tell her.  And then I start to realize something has to be wrong for her to be calling me.

“What’s up,” I say.

“There’s been in an accident.”

“What do you mean there’s been in an accident?  What happened?”

“They were in a head-on crash from what I’ve been told.”

My mind raced as I wondered how bad the accident could be, and how a head-on was possible if they were still on the interstate as I had recommended.  How is that possible, I keep saying to myself.

My daughter, sitting next to me, says, ‘Mom, what’s wrong?’ …

“They’re in the ambulance.  We’re on our way,” says R.

As others are arriving to set up camp at the ranch, I know they need help.  I call the Cowboy.  He drops everything, sends family and friends to his parents where we are all to meet that night anyway, and heads out to do what he can to help.

My daughter and I are still 3 hours away from the scene – a two-lane highway GPS steered them off on only about 40 miles from the ranch.

I ask to please let us know what we can do to help even from the car.  Say a prayer for them all and think, ‘this can’t be happening.’  They have to be okay.