What really matters...

Yes I am, in fact, blogging while on vacation.

Doesn't feel like work, that's why.  

Lemme' tell you about the pictures first, then I'll get to the body of it.  The first shot above says it all.  A husband and a wife hoping for the best for the couple in the accident while being thankful it wasn't them.

We stopped dead on I95 southbound, headed for Hilton Head.  As far back as you can imagine the highway was one big tailgate party--or would have been under normal circumstances.

Three times the air-evac chopper arrived, picked up a patient, flew them off to the Charleston Hospital then came back to do it again.  Three chopper rides, two ambulance trips.  Five people critically injured.

We sat on I95 for just under two hours watching it unfold.  We were about half a mile back from the site of the accident.  We'd been rolling along no problem, more than ready to 'be there' as a four-hour trip from Mooresville (just north of Charlotte) was a little more than we had appetite for after the 12-hour trip we'd just done from our home west of Toronto to my wife's Dad's place.

Anyway, all of a sudden we see brake lights.  Serious brake lights.  We stop, then emergency vehicles start racing past on the grass shoulder lights blazing sirens blaring.  We sit for a few minutes then a few minutes more than everyone starts getting out of their cars shielding their eyes from the sun trying to see what's happened.

The trucker next to us says someone's dead.

The helicopter arrives.

We know it's serious.

And we start talking with our kids about death and dying.  We pray for the people.  We hope for the best.  The trucker keeps giving us updates.  Can't get 'em out of the cab.  It's a camper and a car tangled up.

Nobody's dead--critically injured.  We should be here an hour or so.

One more patient to go.

They're spraying the road down.

('spraying the road down'?  from what?  what are they washing away?)

Good to go.

Pass the wreck.

The entire front cab of the motor home is destroyed crushed right back into the body of the vehicle.

Lord have mercy.

And that shot of the couple off the top hit me.  I'd just pulled my camera out and started shooting and, checking my shots later, there it was.

"Together"

That's what matters.

Snuggle up next to the one(s) you love and squeeze 'em 'cause you can be sure the couple in that camper who swerved to avoid the car and hit the bridge abutment instead had no idea yesterday was going to be their last.

Go on and get to huggin'.

T