It was a brisk, windy, spring day in the mid nineteen nineties with lots of clouds. I could see the tree branches swaying back and forth with the wind as I drove back to work from lunch at home.

When Pam and I moved to Grand Rapids, we both noticed how beautiful Thornapple River Drive was as it wound along the Thornapple river. This became my regular route to and from work.

This time, as I approached the part of the road where it almost falls into the river, I saw that one of the huge trees’ branches were swaying further over the road than usual.

This beautiful tree then fell across the road with a thump. I slammed on my brakes and idly wondered how far I was going to bounce off this thing. Not that far, it turns out.

I was ok except for a minor scrape on the top of my head where I’d brushed the sunroof.

I got out and wandered around the car to look at the damage. The front end did its job of keeping between me and the tree and it looked it. I wasn’t going to be driving it anywhere for a while.

I considered that I was in a unique position. I could testify that the tree jumped in front of me and not perjure myself.

A Porsche pulled up behind me. The driver had seen the accident and had called 911. He established that I was ok and offered a seat in his car while we waited for the first responders to show up.

He mentioned that he worked with insurance and told me that it made a difference to insurance companies whether I hit the tree before or after the tree hit the ground. He emphasized that he wasn’t encouraging me to make up stuff but that he wanted me to know that it was a significant difference.

I was getting the sense that there was an opportunity for something cagey but I wasn’t up for it. In most cases, I find that I agree with Marvin the Paranoid Android in that life can be awful enough without having to make up more of it.

He also offered the use of his cell phone to call for a ride since my car wasn’t taking me anywhere. Cell phones were still pretty new back then and not very common.

Soon, the police came, the fire department showed up with chainsaws aplenty to get the gosh darned tree off the road, and then the tow truck came.

Years later, as I approach the part of the road where it almost falls into the river, I still look for wayward trees.