Haunted by old memory

When I was five years old, the family nearly got into a car accident on the way home to Oregon from a trip to the California Bay area to see family. We are in our bulky 1949 Nash and nearly got run off the road by the flatbed truck we were passing.

In those days, it was common to honk several times before passing. Mother did this. However, the truck driver apparently didn’t hear us and came over into our lane, almost hitting us before we got his attention. When he finally saw us, he overcorrected and swerved off the road into a field where the truck rolled over multiple times.

The police came. We ended up sitting in a hot car on the shoulder for a long time. Conversations between the officers and my parents happened outside the car, to my two brothers and I had no idea what was said. In fact, my brothers are too young to remember it.

My parents never spoke of it, so I never heard what happened to the people in the truck. Seatbelts were unheard of then, so they probably were injured. I guess I’ll never know. I never thought to ask my folks. By the time I started wondering, they had both passed away.

I’ve searched online, but never found any report of the accident. I still wonder, though after all these years.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of Conjure Woman’s Cat.