Count Your Blessings and Hug Someone You Know!

October 16, 2010 – Today, I was running errands in San Luis Obispo and I had a few hours to get them done.  I made it to Costco, See’s Candies, Kohls, and then was on my way to Arroyo Grande.  On my way up to San Luis Obispo, I had noticed the traffic was bumper to bumper heading southbound on the 101.  You have to understand that traffic is something we rarely deal with here on the Central Coast, with the exception of festivals or car shows.

I was hoping that by the time I was done in San Luis Obispo, the traffic would be nonexistent and I could run some errands in Arroyo Grande.  I left San Luis Obispo and found myself going 5 mph (at the most) on the 101 southbound in a car that is a stick shift – yuck!  Of course, I had just finished a frappuccino and drank a lot of water while out and about and had to pull off to use the restroom.   I figured getting off on the frontage road, which runs parallel to the freeway, would be a faster way to get to town.  Hmmm…..wrong choice….it’s like getting in a different line at the grocery store, thinking it will go faster, but it takes twice as long as the line you were originally in.  That was the same way with the frontage road.  It took twice as long as the freeway would have taken.

I complained about the traffic to a friend, but had no idea what had caused the horrible traffic.  I felt terrible when I found out.  Apparently, a 19 year old male intentionally drove his vehicle off the 101 freeway with a believed attempt to harm himself.  He suffered from moderate injuries, but killed a pedestrian couple who were visiting Pismo Beach (ages 63 and 59).  The 19 year old is now in county jail and is being charged with vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence.  His bail is set at $50,000.  

I feel terrible because I was complaining while somebody’s parents were dying.  When I got home, I gave my boys a huge hug and began to count my blessings.  So, please take a moment to count your blessings and hug somebody you know (or don’t know, although it might freak them out).