So, I’m suffering a doozy of a head cold.
My wife, Caryn, brought back a virus from her recent trip to visit family in Montana, and she was kind enough to share. She’s over a month with it, and I’m about 10 days behind her … so I’ve a bit to go.
Anyway.
Between that cold, my multiple sclerosis (MS) acting the maggot of late, and a strange experience I had recently — one that others without the previous two conditions may also have found frightful — I’m reevaluating my time behind the wheel.
Suddenly, I Was Racing Backward!
I was backing the car into a parking space, facing a blank wall in front of me. I centered myself between the lines and the cars on either side of me. I was slowing as the proximity beepers guided me as to how close I was to the wall behind.
It’s a three-level alarm — slow beeps to start, then medium-fast beeps as I get closer, then a solid tone when I’m within stopping distance — and I had just ticked into the middle level, so I knew I was about three feet away.
Suddenly, the car began to accelerate backward.
I hit the brake but kept going faster in the backward direction.
I pulled up on the parking break and the car began to feel like it was sliding off the edge of the earth or something and my speed increased. It all happened so fast, and as I pumped the brake again the engine disengaged, and then I realized what was happening.
I Wasn’t Moving. They Were!
The cars on either side of me — both of them at the same time — began to pull out as I was slowing my reverse into the parking bay.
The optical illusion that it caused — paired with my head cold and recovery from fever-induced pseudoexacerbation — made my head and my body feel like I was picking up ramming speed in a backward direction.
I didn’t realize what was happening until the car on my left began to turn across my bow, and the one on the right yielded to let her pass.
As you can imagine, I was pretty shaken by the experience, and it took a good few minutes for me to compose myself before I could get out and carry on with whatever errand it was that brought me into town with the car versus my usual bicycle mode of transport.
Is This a One-Time Thing? Or a Sign of Things to Come?
I believe most people would have had an odd sensation if they were going backward in a car and the two cars on either side started forward. That part is normal. But I feel like my experience and reaction were heightened by my current state of health.
This cold virus won’t last forever (contrary to the way it feels, as it hangs on for far longer than it should), so that aspect of the experience won’t always be a factor. And once it passes — fingers crossed — the MS bit will calm itself as well.
But that mayn’t be the case.
One More Thing to Keep an Eye On
I’m going to have to keep an eye on all of this. I can’t endanger myself or others if this sort of carry-on becomes more frequent. I suppose it’s a game of wait and see for now.
I’d sold my vehicle about a year before we moved here, but I’ve been driving again for a good few years. Now it looks like I’m going to have to reevaluate … again.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers,
Trevis
