Driving Under the Influence of.....Texting

I feel utterly lost without a device I'd never even heard of 15 years ago.... freakin' cell phones!! I may lock my keys in my car every now and then, may even make it all the way to the check out at walmart without my wallet, but you can bet I will have my cell phone in my hand. It's as much a pain in the butt as it is convenient.

I find it funny that it doesn't bother me one bit to ignore an actual call if I'm tied up and can't get to it, but a text hits that inbox and it'll drive me crazy until I can reply. Dunno if I'd go as extreme as the little diagram above, however, and talk2text just doesn't hold the same appeal to me. I like the typing part of text messaging! Besides, I'm not too sure how a computer would translate half the words I use...no tellin what it'd look like I said. My husband despises text messaging with a passion. He'll have no part of it and if ever left alone with my phone, I suspect he'd rip every button with a letter on it off.

I'm trying desperately to break my really, REALLY horrible habit of texting while driving. I know, I know...its so dangerous and not just to me and my carload either. It took someone almost plowin' ME over last week to convince me tho'.

I wasn't even texting, had looked down to skip ahead on my Lecrae CD (awesome tunes, btw). When I focused again on the road...well, what I shoulda' seen was the road, what I saw instead was a set of headlights, flashing hazards, and a FORD emblem headed straight for me. But I was still on my side of the yellow lines! It's amazing how many things can go thru your mind in a split second. I was confused initially...I'm used to seeing tailights ahead, not headlights! It was a "whoa. Now, wait just a second here..." moment. An 8th of a moment? Cuz then I looked to my left and realized the other lane was full of traffic and that this maniac had no where to go even if he/she suddenly became aware that they were in the WRONG FREAKIN' LANE and were fixin' to, at the very least, severly mangle some cars, mine bein 1st in line. (I never saw a face but I'm gonna go with my gut & say this person was of the male gender.) So, as I glanced to the left I immediately thought, "No hope he's goin' that way", and steered right and onto the shoulder hopin' he didn't decide to try to go around me on my side of the road when he realized there was no getting back over. In that second, I also remember thinking, "Oh! I am SO lookin in my rearview mirror and gettin' that tag number!!!". As I did, I saw that the line of cars behind me had also done the same with this triple x wanna be stunt man and that he had just nearly taken out the lead car in the line of traffic he was flyin' around. Didn't get the tag number, but at that point, I was just happy to be alive! Maybe the guy he nearly side swiped got it before he sped outta sight. It all went down in less than 30 seconds, way less I imagine. So, in the five seconds it took to replay that whole scene in my head, the adrenaline rush began to subside and then I realized just how close I'd come to a head on collision....I didn't know whether to cuss or cry. Scared me to think of just how narrowly I'd escaped what surely would have been one heck of a mess. I hope those flashers meant there truly was an emergency somewhere that warranted him taking a chance on pickin up the tab on ambulance rides for everyone!

So anyway, I'm pretty sure that guy wasn't texting and driving either but near death experiences (yes, I DID feel as tho I got real up close and personal with death that day) tend to make you value life a little more than you did before. I've decided to keep my phone out of arms' reach during my travels. Good for me, good for my passengers, good for all who travel the same roads I travel!