White Bread

April 2008
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Turns

So I almost died last week. Well, actually I didn’t even get hurt. But I did get the crap scared out of me.

On the way back to work from a delicious lunch at Applebee’s, I and two co-workers were driving through a construction site on 4 Mile Rd.

As we were approaching the excavator, I noticed a ball of flames near the outside tank tread. I didn’t think much about it in that split second. When we came up next to it, another fire ball shot out from the other tank tread. My co-worker John looked up and saw fire shooting from the elbow of the bucket arm. Turns out the operator was resting it on the power line that extends to Tequila Willies.

Then we heard a loud explosion and something came crashing down on my windshield. Turns out it was the power line.

I kept driving, not sure what happened. I pulled off to the side of the road, turned around, and saw construction workers fleeing in all directions, fire shooting out of the wires catching the grass on fire. Creepy stuff. I called 911 and explained what happened. They told me to stay in the car. The fire marshal showed up and told me to stay in the car. We were freaked. Turns out we were fine.

Then the wackiness ensued. After waiting 45 minutes or so, a Kent County Sheriff came over. I needed a police report for insurance purposes. He asked if we were west or east bound. It was like I stole his donut when I told him the answer. (I joke about donut not because he’s a cop, but because he was a fat, rude bastard). Turns out that the jurisdiction between the City of Walker and Kent County is split in the left turn lane of 4 Mile Rd.

Then he realized that both westbound lanes were closed for construction. Gleefully, he scampered off with our id’s, insurance and registration documents. We were in Walker’s jurisdiction. We weren’t his problem anymore. It completely made his day. Turns out it matters what side of the street you’re on, not which direction you’re traveling.

Another hour or so went by before Walker showed up, did the paperwork, and sent us on our way. In that time, Consumers Energy had already arrived on the scene, removed the destroyed wires, strung up new wires, and turned the power back on.

By the time we got back to work, everyone had a different version of the story. Turns out that a couple of employees saw what happened. That mixed with me talking to a co-worker in a panicked frenzy mixed with the grapevine made the story snowball into craziness.

Check out our web picture album to see the damage. Turns out the broken windshield doesn’t match the drama of the afternoon.

–>

Posted in Random Thoughts April 13th, 2008 by | 1 comment

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