Small Mercies

I was a witness to a car accident on my way into the office today. A woman not
paying attention just sailed through a red into cross traffic. The car she hit
spun out and its driver momentarily lost consciousness so it started just kind
of drifting forward. It motored up onto the sidewalk and was just driving down
the sidewalk. This man was walking down the sidewalk with his small son, maybe
two or three years old. He was just staring at the car bearing down on him
like a deer in the headlights. I myself was standing in the middle of the
intersection. Seeing the car heading down on the man and his son people kind
of snapped awake and started yelling at him. At almost the last possible
second he seemed to snap back awake, grabbed his son and jumped out of the
way. The car soon after bumped a wall and came to a stop.

Thank God for small mercies. The drivers of both cars were OK (the one who
apparently lost consciousness for a moment didn't want an ambulance, but the
police talked her into accepting it). So, nobody hurt (or if so, none too
bad).

Watching that car bearing down on that child like that... a short, poignant case-study in the misery and fear of helplessness.