Saturday, July 20, 2013

I Have a Guardian Angel

When I was in my late twenties, my best friend Paige and I visited a psychic.

"You have a guardian angel," she said.  "Her name is Carol Anne."  Paige was taking notes for my session, and she immediately started writing, "Run to the light, Carol Anne!" while I tried to choke back my laughter.  "She's doesn't like Poltergeist jokes," the psychic said sternly, "and she's telling me that you spelled her name wrong."  Oops.

They're he-ere!


Let me say it loudly right now, "Thank you, Carol Anne!  Thank you soooo much!"  I will never use your name in the context of a cult horror film again because tonight you probably saved my life.

Jill and I were running my favorite 10-mile route; it is the former "Blue Line" run from the Akron Marathon, so-named because the runners follow a painted blue line on the road.
This is what the blue line run looks like in some parts of Akron.



Twenty seconds after we turned a corner, there was a t-bone car crash in the exact spot where we had previously run.  It was horrible.  Neither Jill nor I had a phone, but luckily a woman walking with her baby did have one, and after I promised to keep an eye on the baby, she called 911 and investigated the crash to give as much detail as possible.  I saw four of the victims; one was a small child, but she seemed to be ok.  The other victims looked horrible.  Within minutes many medical personnel stopped to help, and then the police and EMT's arrived.

When we realized that there was nothing more we could do (after telling arriving cars to turn around and go back), we decided to continue the run.  We had about six more miles to go.  My arms and legs were shaking, and no matter how much Jill and I tried to shake it off, my mind kept going back to the crash and the woman with the cell phone who said, "Twenty seconds slower, and you would have been right in that."

I am praying for those people tonight.  I am thanking Carol Anne, God, and any other forces in the Universe that pushed my ass a little faster down that blue line today.  I am a grateful runner.

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