About My Son.....

My son has returned home. He’s safe. He’s well. And.....he’s still sleeping right now! Seriously.
For weeks I have been telling my son to be careful while still living in Las Vegas. Be careful driving, son, you don’t want to get a ticket (he still has a TN driver’s license). Be careful, son, you don’t want to cause an accident. Be careful, son, and watch out for all the crazy driver’s there. You’re selling your car so you certainly don’t want to wreck it before you get a chance to sell it and move home. Be careful, be careful, be careful. (Hey....it’s a mother’s job, right?)
Last Sunday, I was politely minding my own business, having a relaxing time working on my photo journals with a few of my girlfriends when my mobile rings. It was around 8:00 a.m., Vegas time:
Me: Hello?
Son: Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE what just happened?
Me: Oh my gosh, what? What? WHAT??? Are you okay? (I HATE it when he does that to me!)
Son: Yeah, but I just got hit by a drunk driver!
Me: Are you okay????
Son: Yeah, I’m okay. But the guy slammed on brakes at a GREEN LIGHT and when I swerved to his right to avoid hitting him, he decided to turn right from the inside lane and hit me. Then he TOOK OFF!
Me: Really?
Son: Yeah, so, of course, I knew I had to take off after him!
Me: What?!!!!!
Son: Yeah, but he finally stopped and the police are here now talking to him.
Me: Well, son, things happen and the most important thing is that you’re okay.
Son: Yeah.

It should be said that N was absolutely furious when the guy finally pulled over and N got out of the car. He demonstrated this by using his best, most colorful language. Then N saw that Drunk Guy was drunk so he decided he was just wasting his colorful language on him and backed off. Drunk Guy actually tried to convince Nick to just "exchange information" so he could go on his merry, inebriated way.

Drunk Guy: So dude, you don’t have that much damage to your car. Let’s just exchange numbers and leave.
Son: Uh, no, that’s not gonna work for me.

So Drunk Guy, who had only been living in Vegas for 2 months, also got a ticket for not having a Nevada driver’s license, along with his expensive stay in the Clark County Jail. Nick showed the police his Tennessee driver’s license. They didn’t say a word. Whew! They didn’t ask for his insurance. Double whew!
Long story trying to be short (really, I’m trying).....Nick is working with Drunk Guy’s insurance agent but had to leave the car at his former employer’s in Vegas without selling it. The silver lining, hopefully, will be that Nick will most likely receive more for the damage than he would have received had he sold the car unwrecked. The car still runs just fine. It just "don’t look so pretty." He already has a buyer who will buy it wrecked. So for now....all is well. He’s just waiting to hear from the adjuster.

I’m just glad my son is home and away from what truly was, for him, The City of Lost Wages. He did experience one bright spot, however, as he was "leaving Las Vegas." He had dinner with friends there and before they took him to the airport they decided to have a few drinks and they all started playing poker machines. N, of course, couldn’t resist. He didn’t have all that much money with him. When he arrived in Knoxville at 6:00 a.m. he said, "I have good news and I have bad news." I said, "Lord have mercy on my soul and prevent me from having a heart attack, WHAT IS THE BAD NEWS?????" He said, "I played a poker machine before I went to the airport.......but I hit four aces and won $400!" Then he smiled. I said, "You’re buying breakfast!"