"It's 3 a.m. and I wanna go to bed..."

There is NOTHING fun about being woken up at 3 a.m. by cops at your door, but it could DEFINITELY be worse than why they came to mine Tuesday night. I was the victim of a hit and run, and my 1999 Jetta was totaled.

You may be thinking, “that sucks,” and it does, but it’s all about OPTIMISM, right? Looking at things HALF-FULL. Believe me, it’s the only way to roll through life happy.

But let’s get back to the knock first. I was out COLD for the night, dreaming about not being in school, when something woke me up. I have a wrap-around porch on my duplex that ends with a window attached to my bedroom, and somebody was RIGHT OUTSIDE. Whoever it was had a flashlight and was waving It around my window.

Then “BOOM BOOM BOOM!” Somebody was pounding on my door! I freakin’ froze up in bed, but I knew I had to answer it, not knowing what the intentions of the person would be. I got outta bed, left my lacrosse stick behind like a sleep-deprived idiot, and yelled, “Yo!”

“Police, open up!” they said. I was awake now…

“Oh,” I said, and opened right up. My mind was racing, having NO CLUE what was going on.

“Are you the owner of the black vehicle outside?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“You’ve been the victim of a hit and run.”

Shitttttttt, I thought. I walked outside, and sure enough, I was the victim of a hit and run. Cops don’t really lie about these things, but I was tired, dammit, and had to see it.

The guy who did it slammed into my car and fled on foot. My poor Jetta was pushed up onto the sidewalk with a snapped axel and a caved-in passenger side. One of my wheels was parallel to the ground, “Back to the Future”-style (You know, like when the Delorean flies in the second movie). It was totaled. And damn, it’s cold out at 3 in the morning…

Anyway, fast-forward real quick, and everything is going to be ok…for me at least. We got the kid’s insurance from his dad, and they’re going to come give me a quote on how much money I’ll get for a new car in the next day or two.

The KID, though, is screwed. Besides being drunk and committing a hit and run, the police found pot and pills in his car, AND he had expired tags. There’s a warrant out for him now, but I don’t if they’ve gotten him yet.

Crazy, right?

There are several things to take out of this, though. First, thank GOD no one was hurt, past the surface injuries the driver sustained. A car is a car, and it sucks, but everybody is ok. Second, I hope the kid will be all right. What I hope he gets out of this is a life-changing experience. I hope he looks at it as an event that turned his life around, and starts living it RIGHT. Moments like these define character, and the way you handle it can determine the rest of your life, so I hope he looks at it as a second chance instead of a terrible night.

Drunk driving is no joke. I know there have been a few times where I shouldn’t have been behind the wheel, and I’m SUPER-thankful and lucky that I’m here today to write this admission. DD’s and cabs are awesome, and 20 bucks on a safe ride is a lot cheaper than the cost of a lawyer. Or your life.

My car will be taken care of. Things are cool. We’re all still here. The rest doesn’t matter. Just gotta keep truckin’ and keep it half-full.

True.
D.