Sliding Doors

Have you ever had a moment in which you had to make a split second decision, only to end up with dire consequences? This is my story.

Over the past weekend, I had to rent a truck to move my personal items from a friends house into public storage. Everything went according to schedule, even better in fact. There were no hassles renting the truck, traffic was good, and we were able to load and unload everything in record time.

The final task that I had to do was to refuel the truck before returning it. I drove the truck into the gas station and proceeded to fill it up with gas. This did not take too long as I did not use up too much gas. I wanted to drive out of the station, but there was a van in front of me that was still filling up. I looked around and thought that there was enough space to maneouver around it.

Boy, was I wrong! Actually, I almost made it. I was really careful turning the truck, and I cleared almost all 16 feet of it. It was the last half foot that got me. I didn't even feel the truck bump the van, I just heard it.

Crack! (insert expletive here)

I immediately set the handbrake on the truck, got out, and inspected the damage with the driver of the van. It wasn't too bad. The left rear corner of the truck had clipped the right rear corner of the van. Since I stopped the truck immediately after contact, the truck and the van were stuck together. After some discussion and analysis with the van driver, we both decided that the least damaging way to separate each other was for her to drive her van a few inches forward. So she did... slowly. It still did not prevent the taillamp from breaking, but at least the van and the truck were separated. Fortunately, I bought insurance for the truck when I rented it (yet another split second decision, this time for the better). There was nothing more we could do, so we traded information so that the insurance companies could handle the situation.

Despite this incident, it did not prevent me from driving to the Georgia Aquarium and enjoying the rest of my day. After all, there is no use in worrying about the past. Besides, the damage could have been worse, and people could have been hurt. At the end of the day, the worst that could happen is for my insurance premium to go up.

If only I had waited a few more minutes for the van to drive away, I wouldn't have bumped into it and I wouldn't have had to endure extra hassle.

We all have those moments in which we make a split second decision that changes our life forever. Some we can take back, and some are permanent. The best thing we can do is accept the consequences of our actions and make up for our mistakes.

This reminds me of the movie 'Sliding Doors'. I remember watching it years ago in Louies THX while on a date (quite a memorable one, I should add). It stars Gwyneth Paltrow and is about how her character's life branched to different paths simply by missing the train by the littlest of margins (in other words, what could have been). Both paths had their ups and downs, but the moral of the movie was that no matter which path she took, she still ended up with the man she loved.

I personally do not believe in fate nor do I believe that we have predetermined events in our lives, but if we are given a second chance, we should make good use of it and not committ the same mistakes!

La Vita e Bella!