A Provocative Question

How do you find any good in the bad?

Like most people, I always try and find something good in everything, though sometimes you have to use a magnifying glass to find it.  Other times, it’s right in front of you and if you’re not careful, it’ll bite you in the ass.

A couple of years ago, Robert and I drove to North Carolina to visit my youngest daughter who was married to a Marine Corps sniper. At the time, he was deployed for the umpteenth time, leaving her at home again with four children –--three of which were autistic.

Her phone call went something like this:

“Mom? I really miss you. Can you please come down for a few days?”

“Okay, sweet girl. When?”

“Yesterday is perfect. I really need you, Mom.”

Robert had four days off, so we threw some clothes in a suitcase, packed a cooler, filled the gas tank, and left early the next morning. It would be a 900 mile trip, but we loved traveling together.  We were good at it. The drive would be a piece of cake.

We got to Jacksonville NC at rush hour, just in time for dinner. Since Robert is diabetic, we decided to stop at a Piggly Wiggly to pick up a few things to take with us.

We found one seven miles from our destination. To get into the parking lot, we’d have to make a left turn across a busy street from the stoplight. The lady in the opposite lane from us was stopped for a red light, but she left room for us to turn and waved us through.

Robert looked left and right, but couldn’t see there was a car coming in the lane beside her. She waved us through again, more insistently, knowing the light was going to change.

Robert hesitated, again checking for cars, and then started into the turn …

( CRASH )

The result was almost a perfect T-Bone. No one in either car was hurt, but both cars were a mess, probably totaled. We managed to meet them in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot and we called the State Police and our respective insurance companies.

The lady in the car behind us also pulled into the parking lot with us. She had witnessed the accident and told the officer how the woman across from us had waved us through, not once, but twice, and very adamantly the second time.

But Robert and I knew the accident was our fault —we should have waited for the light to change before making the turn. The officer confirmed it, but said he saw three or four similar accidents at the same intersection every week.

Okay, now for the good in the bad … or depending on your viewpoint, the bad in the worse …

Our four days with my daughter became eight days. That was nice, although most of the time was spent either on the phone with the insurance company, or sitting in traffic court, downtown Jacksonville, waiting our turn with the judge.

Robert and I rented a car for the drive home. Our car had been totally paid off and only five years old. That gave us a nice chunk of cash from the insurance company towards buying another car, once we were home again.

WAIT, the story isn’t done yet …

When we got home, our courtyard villa was like a sauna.  The AC wasn’t working.  We called for service and after a lengthy check up, we were told it was old and worn out and it finally gave up the fight. But we were in luck! They had a new one in the truck and we could be up and running in two hours.

It would cost almost the exact amount we got from the insurance company for our car.

Now, you ask: “Where is the good in the bad?”

Well, we didn’t have a car anymore, true, but we did have the money to pay for a new AC/Heating system. Trust me, Florida is not the place to be without air conditioning.

That’s kinda-sorta some good in the bad …

Thank God The Villages had every kind of store, bank, grocery, business, and restaurant you could possibly want or need.  So we drove our golf cart, ‘Lucy’, for the next six months, until we could find a car we really wanted and could afford. 

Published Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018
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