I Want to Feel A Car Crash

Quite a week we've had! As many people have wanted to hear about the wreck/see pictures, I thought this would be the easiest way to give you all the details and some pictures.

 (This picture is somewhat graphic, and looks quite dramatic thanks to the cop's spotlight.)

We started out early Monday morning headed to Wyoming. We woke up and headed toward Spokane, where we had to make a 6:00 am flight. There are many ironic things about this story. Ironic situation #1: Doug and I had toyed with the idea of going to Spokane the night before, getting a hotel room and staying the night before our early flight. The problem with paying all of your bills and taking out loans for tuition the night before you leave for a trip is that the last thing you want to do is spend another $50 on a hotel room. (This is what I get for trying to be frugal and poor.)

We headed out after saying our morning prayers for safety during our travels. We got about 45 minutes north of Pullman before the incident happened. Throughout the 45 miles there was a car following us from Pullman. They had been extremely sporatic in their driving. They would tail us with their brights on, then be a mile behind us. This led us to conclude that they were either high or drunk. After about 45 minutes of us dealing with these people Doug decided to slow down and just let them pass us.

 (The back window was the only window of our car to break completely out of the car.)

We were on a two-lane highway. The people began passing us and right as they were about at the corner of the driver's side and about to come back into our lane they started fish-tailing. The first words out of my mouth were, "look at how drunk those people are! I am glad they are passing us so we don't have to deal with them!"  I never imagined that it was probably a mixture of them being under the influence as well as black ice. And let me mention here that the roads looked as if they were dry. I guess that's why they call it black ice. ;)

Right about the time I finished talking, the car passing us slid and was sliding sideways on the two lane highway. That's when Doug hit the breaks and we started fishtailing. As we were headed off the side of the road Doug's first words out of his mouth were, "I am so sorry." Let's be honest. Who can blame him? Not me! I would have done the exact same thing. If a car was facing sideways and we were headed right toward it, I would have slammed on the breaks as well. Human instinct tells us to protect other humans, and Doug didn't want to hit that other car. It was quite comical actually. Doug apologizing to me - and I started yelling at him telling him it was ok and we were going to be ok - we were totally fighting as we were spinning off the road. All I could see was a flat field and I thought we were just going to slid off into the field and be ok.

 (I can't believe Doug's head didn't even get touched. Look at how far in that glass is on his side!)

 What happened next is a complete and total blur. All I remember is going down into a ditch and closing my eyes. Just like characters do in the movies when they close their eyes so tightly and wish they were somewhere else. Both Doug and I commented after that we never once felt scared or in danger. But I do distinctly remember thinking in my head,"I cannot believe this is happening!" After a little rustling around we came to a stop. Both of us were hanging upside down held in place by our seatbelts. Literally one of the first thoughts I had in my mind was a saying from our good friend Jane, who studied public health at BYU, "Seatbelts! Now that's public health!" No air bag deployment at all. Right away Doug and I were talking to each other. My sister asked us if at any point once things settled down if we felt like we were worried about the other person. I can honestly say that through all of the chaos I knew Doug was ok. And he says the same thing about me. There were no tears or hysterics at this point. Both Doug and I went into what our friend Didi calls "turbo mode" and we went to work.

 I started searching for my cell phone, realizing that we were going to need some help. I was also searching for my glasses, and I couldn't find them. And for those who know me, you know how much of a disability this is. I am almost legally blind. I kept yelling at Doug, "I can't find my glasses!" Doug yelled back at me, "why are you worrying about your glasses at a time like this?" As we were reliving the story out later, I found out Doug thought I had in my contacts and that I was looking for my sunglasses. Ha ha ha. Luckily I found my glasses fairly easy as well as my cell phone and I called 911 right away. (Doug has now determined that our next big investment will be in me getting laser eye surgery. He views it as food storage - preparation in case of catastrophe.) Doug unbuckled from his seatbelt and then proceeded to unbuckle me from mine. Both of us tried to get out of our car doors but were unable to. (Come to find out later that we were in a 12 foot deep ditch that was making it so our doors couldn't open.) All I wanted to do was be out of that car. I still didn't feel unsafe, but I thought the claustrophobia was going to kill me more than being in a car crash would have.

Doug figured out that the back window was smashed and open, so we crawled out of the car that way. Sidenote: Whenever I get on a plane and the flight attendant goes through the safety schpeel I have ALWAYS thought that I would be that person taking her carry-on off with her in case of an emergency - even though they tell you not to. I am a person who likes her things. Somewhat ashamed to admit that I like my things, but that's how and who I am. Take me or leave me. I would like to toot my own horn now and say that from this experience I have learned this about myself - if I am ever in an airplane crash I will not be that lady. I crawled out of that car with nothing but my cell phone and what I had on me. I left everything else.

I wasn't on the phone long with 911. They asked if we were ok, if we had gotten out of the car, where we were, etc. Tooting Doug's horn now - Doug has a weakness with directions and orientation. But by some miracle Doug had happened to look at what mile marker we were at two miles before the accident, so he knew right where we were. After we hung up with 911 we said a quick prayer of gratitude that we were ok - walking out of our car without a scratch, bruise, broken bone, or anything - and then Doug hurried to the other side of the road to check on the other car and see if they were ok. To me this next part just reaffirms that the driver of the other car had to be on something because when Doug got to where they should have been - they weren't there. They had totally fled the scene of the accident. Later when we saw the tracks of the other car in the daylight, we realized how incredibly high or drunk the people had to have been because their headlights were shining in the exact spot where our car was. So they either had to have saw us flip the car, or saw the car upside down. No one in their right mind would have fled. At least I hope not. I mean, come on - a car that you're passing is suddenly missing?!... We were in the bottom of a ditch and could have been unconscious, paralyzed, bones broken, etc., and no one would have seen us until 7:00am when the sun rises!

The first car to pull over was, get this - irony again - the de-ice machine man. He said, "looks like the night crew didn't do what they were supposed to." The paramedics showed up and took good care of us. The funny/cool thing about being from a smaller town is all the paramedics are volunteers and they were at the scene in less than 15 minutes. We waited in the back of the ambulance until the highway patrolman came. While we were waiting, the fireman asked us if we wanted anything out of the car. It was then that my materialistic self kicked in. I wanted my purse, Doug wanted his backpack. As long as we had our wallets and computers, we were good to go. He came back with those then asked if we had our license and registration as the highway patrolman would want that. We didn't, so he crawled back in the car for the second time to retrieve that information. As he was in there the second time I started going through my things. I realized that a necklace in a jewelry box my grandma gave me as her dying present to me was gone. The fireman came back and I apologized profusely and totally played the dead grandma story for all it was worth and he went back in there and got my necklace. While he was in there looking for my necklace I realized I couldn't find my camera. Doug said, "give it up." Ha ha ha. Happy ending to that story - I found my camera later when we got back to Wyoming.

Then the highway patrolman came about 45 minutes after the accident. (He was in Pullman, which is about 45 minutes from where we were, so he made pretty good time too considering the drive he had.) We were handed off to the highway patrolman so the paramedics could go to another wreck two miles ahead of us. That wreck was also caused by black ice. (Luckily everyone in that accident was ok too, and I guess lucky that everyone in the car that caused our accident was also ok. They never found the car involved in our accident.) We waited in the back of his car for awhile until the tow truck came. We watched tow truck man pull our car out of the ditch and then got in his car. 

While all of this waiting was happening we realized we needed to make a few phone calls. We decided we wouldn't call my parents as it was 430 in the morning. No reason to get them worried when we were ok. So, we called Delta and told them we wouldn't be making our flight. The lady said she wouldn't make us pay the $100 change fee, but that we'd have to pay the fare difference - $300/ticket, which was what the price of the original tickets. I told her, sorry, we can't afford that. She tried to get us a flight into Billings, and then into Bozeman, and finally just said she'd call us back. Five minutes later she called back and said it had all been taken care of. I'd call that a Christmas miracle! We also got on the phone with Geico, and sorted out all of that grown up stuff. Ironic situation again - we had just put $500 into the car two days previously when we found out we needed a new water pump. We made sure that the insurance people knew about that! 

By the time we got back to the tow truck office we called my parents. Can I just mention how grateful I am for parents that could afford such a nice car when they originally purchased it six years ago and placed such a high priority on a car that would keep us safe?! That's when the tears started. Ironic situation again - just a few days earlier Doug and I had been talking about how we had no one we felt comfortable with calling if anything ever happened to us in Pullman. The worst-case-scenario thinker that I am was thinking like, house burning down. Who could be there right away to help? Most of our friends live in Moscow, which is a ten minute drive away, and you don't always have ten minutes when your house is burning down! And because it was break the friends that we do have in Pullman had all gone home for Christmas. Luckily we realized that our friends in Moscow were still there, and as this wasn't the worst-case-scenario-house-burning-down problem and we were all in one piece, so we called Brian and Hillary. They came and rescued us.

 (We had to drive the same road back to Spokane later that day to catch our flight for the next day. So this is us surveying the damage of what was left behind.)

The rest of that day was a mess of paperwork, phone calls, and letting the adrenaline stop running throughout our bodies. The shock of the day didn't hit us until we were in the hotel that night. (We decided to splurge and spend the extra $50 so we wouldn't have a repeat of our previous morning.) Neither of us could go to sleep - reliving the nightmare of our crash and the day we had had. Around 230 that morning I asked Doug if he was asleep, he said no, so he said we should just turn on HGTV as we weren't going to get any sleep. We flew home to Wyoming the next morning - turbulence taking on a whole new meaning. The nice thing? We weren't even sore. We think because we flipped, the centrifugal force was the only force we felt. Either that or the back of the car absorbed all of the shock as we landed. Plus, the car didn't stop right away. Although 20 yards doesn't seem like a big distance, it was enough to slow us down enough. Much different than hitting a car and stopping right away. And the ditch we landed in was like straw and mud - much easier to absorb a big shock than pavement!

 (Kind of a creepy photo when you really think about it - that's my bowl leftover from the cereal I had eaten that morning.)

 There are lots of things Doug and I have learned from this experience. As I've taken up enough space I'll just comment on the one that meant the most. Throughout the day of the wreck many people kept texting/calling to check up on us. And I mean countless texts and calls. Most of Doug's classmates texted him and let him know that we were in their thoughts and prayers. It meant so much that even though our closest friends and family are not near to us, they still took time out of their day to reach out and let us know how much they love us.

 (Our tracks from sliding off the road.)

 Angels really were protecting us that day. To name a few - Doug's dad, my uncle Jeff, and countless grandma's and grandpa's who love us dearly. It's moments like these when I love to think about how truly close we are to heaven. Although these beloved people are even farther from us than our dear family and friends who had been texting and calling all day expressing their concern and love, these angels protected and expressed their love and concern in a way only they can. By literally calling down the powers of heaven to protect us - helping us escape without a scratch. Referencing our friend Jane's dad, "it's only a problem when money can't fix it," we didn't have any problems that day. The car is totaled, but that's not a problem. We're alive and doing well. We got home to Wyoming and collapsed. We spent two days in a stupor in front of the tv consuming mindless nothings, decompressing, and just thanking Heavenly Father that we're alive.

Back in the Saddle Again

Per request of many people - this blog has been resurrected. I am not a diligent blogger, so you won't find consistent posts. Instead of some long arduous post catching up on my life for the past almost 4.5 years, I thought I'd share these two videos.

Beware - these videos are not for the faint of heart. They are the anniversary videos I made Doug. These videos sum up what has happened in the past 2.5 years as they are all the pictures of me and Doug during that time. That makes 2 years of my life missing, but oh well. I will have a post soon about a very fun trip Doug and I took this past summer per request of a friend. Past that - who knows if I'll keep up on this thing?


Year One of Marriage:
http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=0_Wx9PHuGY0&ns=1&o=U


Year Two of Marriage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhYYON2_HyU

Ode to Russell

Russell is one of the best friends I've made here at the center. He's definitely spiced up life at the JC. Below are five reasons why I love Russell Caldwell Stevens.

1. One of the many rules we have is "no flip flops" because the "acids and oils" on our feet will ruin the floor. Well, because Russell stands out so much, this rule only applies to him. Many of the girls have bought flip flops in the old city, and he didn't think it fair that 60 girls could wear flip flops. He decided to make a modified flip flop. He took his rainbows and put shoelaces on them to make them "Roman Sandals." Russell is innovative. He is willing to modify what he has in order to make things work. This characteristic of innovation has been a big bonus during our free days, and a reason why I love Russell.

2. Russell created a song to the tune of "Go Down Moses" after a kid on our trip got in trouble for mooning us. (The story of this could be a blog alone.) He switched the words from "Let my people go," to "Let my Chadwick Go!" Russell is a people person. He will stick up for people, will defend people against the ridiculous rules imposed here at the center, and is just a great all around people person.

3. Russell instituted a tradition, Shabbat Shekel Shaq Shuffle Story time. Every Shabbat evening Russell reads us a bedtime story in the Shekel Shaq. But, they're not your run of the mill children's books, they're ones no one has heard of. How he acquires them, no one knows, but it's hilarious. He sits in a wheely chair that allows him to shuffle his feet to allow all the little children prime time viewing of the pictures.

4. Russell is a wikipedia freak. Anytime I have a question, I know I can ask Russell and he will know an answer. He claims to have read 1/4 of Wikipedia which would honestly not surprise me at all. Questions about how things are made, history (wars, buildings, names, kings, queens, rulers, etc), the meaning of a word, the geography, music, art, science, literally anything. He's always teaching us something new.

5. Russell is hilarious. 1. He has his own hat business in which he imports hats from Columbia/Ecuador. 2. He has taken "just in case" engagement pictures with all 60 girls in the program "just in case" he gets engaged to one of us.

6. Russell is the best protector. At 6'6'' he towers over not only all the kids at the center, but also the native people. His presence alone has warded off many an inappropriate man. Yet again, another reason why I love Russell. (My mother too.)

Having someone who spices up your life? That's something to be excited about.

Best Souvenir Ever

There was nothing to do in Amman. The only activity they publicized was "The Royal Automobile Museum of Jordan." Heck to the No. We spent a great deal of our time walking around the city. Some acquired pounds of ice cream, some pounds of illegal dvds. Both the ice cream and dvds were mediocre. Most enjoyed chocolate, snickers, and bueno flavored ice cream, while the most purchased genre of choice was chick flicks among the women of the JC.

I really took no interest in purchasing illegal dvds. One, because I'd rather have a high quality movie, and two, because the movies in those stores really aren't that great anyway. Case in point, I furiously searched for the hit holiday classic, "Dead Noon." I knew my brother's full length feature film was marketed to Best Buy, Wal Mart, and the black market, so I felt it my moral obligation and duty to search for this awful movie. 

Since there was nothing else to do, we hit up several different black market movie stores. I kept digging through endless piles of movies like "House Bunny," "Land Before Time 34 - Escape from the Witch's Castle," and "Rambo 213 - Rambo Goes Nuts." I thought I would for sure find a movie like "Dead Noon" among the lot, but after two days, my search yielded no results. I was depressed. 

My friend Esther and I decided to return to the black market movie store one last time to purchase all three seasons of "Arrested Development" for only 40 dollars. Esther was standing in line at the check out, the clock ticking as our 10:30 pm curfew was approaching. We had enough time to make it back to the hotel, but we were cutting it close. I decided to look behind me in one last effort to search for my brother's movie. And then, it happened. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. "Dead Noon." I had acquired a copy of my brother's film in a black market movie store halfway across the world. I started crying.

I have been proud of my brother Matthew in a lot of ways. He is one of the most loving, kind, thoughtful, spiritual, realistic, honest people I know. He served a mission, keeps good track of all his siblings and friends, has an honorable job, but I have never once shed a tear because of his accomplishments. Things that ultimately make my brother who he is, things that are much more important than this awful movie he produced, directed, wrote the screenplay for, and so much more have never made me cry. It was at this silly moment that I was proud of my brother, and I was bawling.

I was halfway across the world, and this stupid movie connected me to my brother in Salt Lake City. Memories filled my brain of all my brother had done for me, for the example he has set and continues to set, for the good person he is, and I was proud. I also missed him. All the people at the JC are very smart, and it's really taken a toll on my self confidence. There are times here when I have felt like I know nothing. It was at that moment that I realized I know something, something that a lot of other people probably don't know, and that was I know my family. I know my family better than any book I've read, more than the scriptures, more than any band or movie, more than any important moment in history. And, in all honesty, that's what matters the most.

I quickly asked the store owner if he had any other copies of "Dead Noon" to which he responded, "no." If there would've been 50 copies of "Dead Noon" at the store that night, I would have purchased all of them. Either way, I can say that I bought out all of the copies the black market dvd store had of "Dead Noon." Unfortunately, I received a strike on my record at the JC because of the extra time it took me to purchase another DVD. (You acquire a strike when you are out past curfew.) But, it was most definitely worth it. 

Realizing that you know your family through finding your brother's hit holiday horrible movie cult classic in a black market dvd store when you're millions of miles away? Now that's something to be excited about.

  

Appreciation Days

My roommates and I decided to institute something called"Appreciation Days," days where we will celebrate each boy at the JC. After all we are surrounded by 19 of the most fabulous boys ever. Who else would protect us from the Arab men who attack us? Who else would put up with 60 girls talking about periods, marriage, babies, the honeymoon night, weight fluctuation, and fashion as much as we do? Who else would volunteer to go with us to West Jerusalem (West J as we like to call it) in the evenings because we need a male after 6pm when out of the center? The answer to all of these questions and more is the fine, and decent men of the JC.



We picked our first victim, Ian "Winchester" Esplin the 3rd. (We added the Winchester, and the 3rd.) We changed the words of Britney Spears hit song, "Hit Me Baby One More Time" to "Ian Esplin You're So Smart." We dressed up in what little costumes we have, knocked on his door, and sang him the song. We also made a legitimate invitation that looked like a scroll, finding matches to burn the edges making it look authentic, and "medieval."


It was a comedy of errors. We happened to pick the only boy who is currently in a bromance relationship. (For those of you who are a little older, the definition of "bromance" is boys who are basically dating because they spend so much time together.) Ian's roommate is Michael, and the day we decided to celebrate Ian happened to be Michael's birthday. How were we going to cover this one? Well, in order to appreciate each boy here at the JC, we have to celebrate two boys a week, and three this week. We decided, why not celebrate them at the same time? After all, they are one entity? It couldn't have worked out better.


We went into the old city, ate at a fabulous and relatively inexpensive restaurant (The Armenian Tavern), walked to West J, had gelato, and just enjoyed one another's company. One thing you do on appreciation days is go around the table and say what you love about the person you're appreciating. It was the best part of the whole day. The look on Ian's face (as well as Michael's because they're not only lovers, but because we were celebrating him as well) was priceless. They just kept thanking us over and over for making them feel so special. They kept thank
ing us for making it such a good day.


Being appreciated by someone? Now that's something to get excited about.

Let's Talk About War Baby

While here, I have learned a lot more about the conflict. Let's be honest, it took coming here to learn about the conflict. I had never understood it, and still don't, but I feel like I've begun to at least tap into what it all means. 

One of the above pictures is of the shields the soldiers use at the Western Wall to protect themselves whenever there's a riot. A picture I'm sure my mom is thrilled to see. The other picture is of some Muslim women at the Mediterranean Sea. One picture depicts the violence that is an all too often occurrence in this area of the world. The other picture shows the joy and liberation Muslim women feel from lifting their burka's and letting their feet and ankles feel the sensations and elements of the ocean. What a contrast.  

Words can't express the hate these people have towards one another. Palestinian cab drivers in West Jerusalem hate the Jews. The Palestinians are seen as people the Jews have to "control" by implementing check points they must cross to travel anywhere. In the end, I prefer the upper picture. 

As hard as it is for one another to believe, both have lives. Both have husbands, wives, jobs, worries, doubts, insecurities, faults, senses of humor, etc. Maybe when we dislike people we should remember this too. But more importantly, we should remember why it's important to be kind to all around us. It's the essential and first lesson we were taught in primary. You know the answer, it's cliche and molly mormon, but its message is so simple, profound, and one of my favorites. It's that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, who loves us. 

He knows each one of us, our faults, our family lives, our struggles, our hopes, our dreams, our concerns, our feelings towards other people be they good or bad, and so much more. A Father in Heaven who knows each one of the soldiers that stands behind those shields and loves them. A Father in Heaven who knows each one of those women on the beach and loves them. And it's that same Father in Heaven who knows you and me and loves us just as much. 

A Father in Heaven who knows and loves each and everyone of us? Now that's something to be excited about.

20 Things

20 Things I've Learned/Remembered/Come to Love Since Being in Jerusalem:

1. I love foreign soda and chips. Yummy! 2. Constipation is worse than diarrhea. 3. I learned how to spell diarrhea. (After Egypt there were so many kids writing home telling their parents how they got the runs, but no one knew how to spell diarrhea, so they made a HUGE sign and posted it in the computer lab.) 4. I've overcome my fear of killing bugs. 5. The west side of town is nicer than the east side. 6. Don't mix grapefruit and milk products. 7. My attitude will determine a lot of how I feel. 8. Thanks to Ty Clive, "High Five" has made its mark on the Jerusalem Center, and is a great way to get to know someone. 9. There is a bitterness between the Palestinians and Israelis that is tangible. I never realized how big of deal this land is to the both of them until I came here. 10. The Lord has no concept of time. 11. Inadequacy can be a tool of the devil, as well as a tool of Heavenly Father. One is used to make you feel horrible and worthless, the other to humble you. 12. Other religions are beautiful in their own ways. 13. I love receiving mail more than a million melons. 14. Power naps really are all that they're cracked up to be. 15. Making friends is hard work. There's no way I'm coming out of this thing with 80 best friends. In the words of The Format, "all you really need are a few good friends." And that (a few good friends) I have. 16. Heavenly Father loves me, and everyone. 17. How a person acts on the outside is not what or who they are on the inside. 18. First impressions are totally wrong. 19. Tender mercies, such as the hammock in the picture above. I was going to miss the hammock up north this summer, luckily my roommate purchased this hot pink hammock that will help me make it through. 20. I didn't have to come here to know the gospel is true. I've known it my whole life.