ISO Black Jetta

If you've been in or around DC for the past week, you've probably noticed the weather. Rainy. Soggy. Humid. Having grown up in the desert of southwestern Idaho, I like rain. It wasn't that it never rained, because it did, but it was something that we looked forward to because we were always in a constant drought. Even here, the rain was much needed this spring. However, by the 4th day of near-constant rain, I decided that I should probably not move to Seattle anytime soon.


By Friday of last week, the basement cafeteria of the Duke Ellington had flooded. (Luckily they patched up the roof last fall, so I don't have to dodge drips as I walk down the hall by my classroom). By Saturday, there were reports of overflowing creeks and canals all over Virginia, and on Sunday, the basement in my old house was starting to leak.


The thing I dislike worst of all, though, is driving in the rain. Half the people on the road are driving much too fast for the conditions and the other half are driving much too slow. I switch back and forth between the two groups, depending on the day. On Sunday night, I was driving north on I-395 (near the Lincolnia-Little River Turnpike exit, since I know you all were wondering) when a little black/dark blue Jetta came up very suddenly behind me. As I was looking in my rear-view mirror, I noted that it was driving rather quickly considering the conditions, and soon found that it wasn't slowing down. At all. Its tail lights disappeared from my mirror and I waited for the impact. It came, but with much less force than expected. My cursory understanding of physics reminded me that the blow was lessened because I was traveling almost as fast in the same direction, but it still threw me off. After the bumpers met, the Jetta went swerving between a couple lanes as the driver tried to maintain control of the car. I worked my way over to the side of the freeway, but watched as the offending vehicle drove on past - didn't even slow down or make his way over to the shoulder. Problem # 2: I was still in a dress and flip flops and it was still pouring rain. And on top of that, my phone had died. And it was midnight. So after ascertaining that my car was still drive-able (there actually wasn't even a dent!), I went home to call the police and make my report. And to compound the problem just a bit more, when I tried to call my insurance agent the next day, I discovered that his website had been removed and his phone disconnected. Fabulous.


On the plus side, I'm fine and my car's fine, both of which I am very grateful for.