On a cold windy night, 10 years ago, it was a fantastic Christmas dinner at Haiwoondae in Chicago. The red wine went very well with the bulgogi and other excellent korean bbq fare. Maybe a bit too much red wine. At that time, that was the Christmas we were finally legally able to drink! The mercury dipped to 0F (-17C), the convoy of cars made their way on Interstate-90, 130 miles back to Madison, WI. Past Rockford, IL, Craig, who was driving his mom’s Acura Integra GSR took the lead. It was 1:30am, CST. We were tired and wanted the warmth and comfort of our beds. We cruised along at about 80mph (130 km/h). Somewhere past Turtle, WI, snow started falling. A few miles later, there was an intersection with I-90 and everything else I don’t really remember except stopping on the grassy divider. The white Integra seemlingly impaled onto the bridge pillar. The airbags deployed but only God really knows what happened.
Mr and Mrs Craig, 10 years later, I have kept and will keep my promise to you. I will not drink and drive. I remember his plans for Christmas and it turned out miserable for so many of us. All I remember is the shock and the numbness (not from the cold mind you), the sense of helplessness and fragility of life. Even if you don’t care about yourself, there’s a lot of other people who care about you. What about them?
