On my walk to campus Monday morning, I was crossing the street when a woman driving a small SUV sideswiped my wheelchair, spinning me around and scraping down the length of the vehicle. I'm lucky: I'm unhurt, and my wheelchair is undamaged, thank God. I was stunned - I looked up and could see the driver. She was on her cellphone, looking over her shoulder, her lips moving fast. I glared at her, still shocked. She sped off, tearing around a corner. She was gone.
I looked myself over again to make sure I wasn't injured. I wasn't, so I went on my way. It was the last day of our semester and I didn't want to miss my students.
About Me
- Paul
- Paul Guest is the author of four volumes of poetry and a memoir. His debut, The Resurrection of the Body and the Ruin of the World, was awarded the 2002 New Issues Poetry Prize. His second collection, Notes for My Body Double, was awarded the 2006 Prairie Schooner Book Prize. His third collection, My Index of Slightly Horrifying Knowledge, was published by Ecco Press/HarperCollins in 2008. His fourth collection, Because Everything Is Terrible, was published by Diode Editions. His poems have appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Poetry, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. His memoir, One More Theory About Happiness, was published by Ecco in May 2010 and selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program. The recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2007 Whiting Writers' Award, Guest lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
10 comments:
Thank goodness you're okay! That's shocking.
I am so glad you are alright. That is absolutely horrible.
I don't know you, but I'm a fan of your work and a poet, too. I just had to comment on this.
This is just so awful. Shame on her. I'm so glad you're okay. A friend of mine from my MFA was killed earlier this year when a girl hit her wheelchair crossing the street in a crosswalk on campus. The girl was texting and speeding through the 25mph zone. What is wrong with people?
I was shocked! "That did not just happen," I said to myself. I wasn't able to get her tag number. I wish I had.
Maybe your campus has CCTV footage (if it was on-campus)?
Just off, just across the street...
I was so livid when I read this that I had to wait to respond. I'm calm now. I am so relieved/happy/grateful that your are OK, Paul. Happy Holidays to you & yours my friend. xo Love, S.
Thanks, Suzanne. It was weird - I know all too well what it's like to have a close call, if you will - and this wasn't really that, in the end. But it could have been. The driver collided into my chair, spun it sideways, and scraped the length of her SUV against my chair. That's just this side of Real Bad.
Holy crap!
I'm glad you're ok, Paul. Hope the holidays are treating you well! :)
Paul, you might not remember me, but you gave a reading for Kate Daniels' poetry workshop at Vanderbilt a couple years ago. I'm currently pursuing an MFA in poetry at CalArts.
Reading this entry, I'm absolutely shocked, and gratified that you were not harmed in the accident.
Hoping the best for you, and looking forward to reading more of your poems.
-Mt
Post a Comment