No, there’s no punch-line. It really happened.
It happened on Saturday, near Gilroy, California. For those unfamiliar with northern California, it’s south of the Bay Area, not far from San Jose. She was driving from her home in San Francisco to the home of a friend in Los Banos.
She had a pretty long day before driving down there, and nodded off at the wheel for an instant. By the time she realised what was happening she was off the road and in the gravel. There were no guard rails, and the car went about 150 feet down a long slope and into a tree-filled ravine.
She walked away completely unhurt.
I’m a pretty fatalistic person, and i have a tendency not to get too worked up about things once they’re over. When something like this happens, i generally just give thanks that it turned out for the best and move on.
Still, it’s pretty amazing to think that, had things turned out differently, the phone call we got that night could have been from the police, rather than my wife’s mother. Maybe the fact that we were watching Six Feet Under at the time made me more conscious of that fact. 
Joking aside, i am, of course, extremely thankful that she’s OK.
That evening, when she called (about five hours after the accident), it hadn’t really sunk in, and she was very composed. Apparently, it hit her a bit harder later on, when she went to get her stuff out of the totalled car. She got a little emotional, especially when the guy at the holding yard said, “You’re lucky to be alive.” My wife, who is now away in Boston on a research trip, told me that she got a little freaked out by the whole thing too the other night. But she’s fine now.
Anyway, just felt like sharing.
This post brings you the following community service announcement:
Please don’t drive if you’re tired. Pull over and rest. It could save your life.
