Our son Gabe is here with a brand new 2021 Toyota Tacoma. He had just left our home and flown to Dallas to pick it up. Don spent months working with the leasing company to even find a new car for Gabe, as inventory has been so low recently. Look how happy and proud he is here in his UT shirt on his way to the Red River Rivalry game at the Texas State Fair, tickets courtesy of Don’s amazing partner, and OU diehard, Chad Brooks. (Congrats, Sooners!)
Gabe had owned this truck for less than one day when on his birthday, he was driving through a green light with the right-of-way, and out of nowhere, a young driver turned left on her own red light and rammed right into him, driver’s side. Gabe had the wherewithal to see it coming, relaxed his body, did not brake, and allowed the truck to spin 360 in the middle of the intersection. He jumped a curb, knocked down a pole, and the left side skid against an electric box which eventually led him to full stop. Air bags deployed, three doors blocked off, he was thankfully able to escape from the rear driver’s side as a biker helped him get out. We are so grateful he was ok! And the driver as well!
Of course the truck was totaled, but Gabe came away with just a sprained neck and back and tiny scratch on his arm from the airbag. That’s it!
This happened in Dallas, TX. I was in Laguna Beach, and Don was in Austin, and so it was quite stressful to say the least not to be there with him, but I’m grateful that my dad was able to come to the scene of the accident and help Gabe through.
It’s hard to know what the life or business lesson is here, or even if there is one. Have you ever had to grieve something you only owned for a short time? Or had a major setback or disappointment when something didn’t turned out as anticipated? Moving forward is not always easy! (Fresh start?…. 😉
Well, this is one way to launch a kid. 😉 (we obviously don’t recommend it) Throw them into the world of insurance, lawyers and doctors for a crash course (pun intended) in the myriad details of life! We are so proud of him and his strength in moving along through this process, and we are SO grateful for extended family around him for support!
….fast forward a month later, and here he is again with a replacement – a new Toyota Tacoma 🙂
Sonya Dalrymple 