It starts to blossom....

After my accident, I was laid up at home for a week or two with lots of stitches in my swollen knee. Up to this point, Geoff and I were colleagues who did things together and he came over to my house everyday to make sure I had food, to water my vegetable garden, and to be good company for me. As the days went by, I started to fall for him and began to realize how much I looked forward to our time together each evening. And his kindness to me was a sign he was also falling for me.

Would we have come to this same result if the accident hadn't occurred (like the movie "Sliding Doors)? We'll never know but the reality is that by time I went back to work (with Geoff driving me while my knee was still healing), we weren't "just colleagues" any longer.

The Fork in the Road

I got a call at work on that July day from Ellyn and she said she had been in an accident with her car. My first thought was that she loved that little car and now it had some big dent in it. I also thought she was calling me from at work, although I had not seen her yet that day. It must have been before lunch since she and I usually ate with a bunch of people from both departments, several of which were transferees from Rochester.

Slowly it came to light that it was more than just a fender bender; that she was not at work, but at home with a badly damaged knee, and that her car was not merely damaged but burned beyond recognition. I actually got to see it later. She found out where it had been taken to and I was curious. At the time I had considered taking photos but I thought they would upset Ellyn too much, so I did not. Now, it would be interesting to be able to look back at them.

As Ellyn mentioned in her post, and I had forgotten, Laura was staying with her that week, so I really did not have to get involved. I am not sure why I did, although we had become friends, and I guess I felt I was able to help out, so I would, as much as she wanted me to. And I did feel bad about her poor car. So it was the beginning, that fork in the road, and I took it.

Fiery Smashup Changes Course of Our Lives

Thirty years ago, today, I was driving to work in my 6wk old red Honda Civic. It was about 6:30am. The sun was just coming over the hills as the southbound I-280 freeway took a turn toward the east less than two miles from my house. The sun was just coming over the eastern hill and, In the next instant, the sun flashed in my eyes.

Boom! Impact.

I realize that the front of my car has crashed into the rear of a car and that both our cars are on fire. I jump out of my car without even considering that I could be stepping into traffic. I go to the elderly couple from other car and ask if they are okay. The man says "The sun was in my eyes. I couldn't see anything so I stopped." As soon as I realize they are okay, I move away from them. By this time, others have gathered to help and they point out that the right knee of my slacks are bloody and tell me to lie down. One is an EMT on his way to work. He pulls up my pant leg and when the injury is revealed, the other bystanders gasp. I never did look at it, myself.

Now the two cars are totally engulfed in flames and people keep asking me over and over whether anybody else was in the car with me. They ask me so many times that I start to worry that I've forgotten somebody in there. Then the trooper asks me what happened and I tell him that I was in the 2nd lane from the right and next thing I know I'm in the back of a car. Then he goes to talk to the other couple and then he returns to me and he says "We have a problem - they say that they were in the right hand lane and you say the 2nd lane." If it was 2007, I probably would have responded "Whatever." but instead I said "well, I guess I was wrong".

The woman in the other car and I were transported to the hospital a couple miles away. At the hospital, x-rays were taken - no CAT scans or MRI's back then. No breaks. My knee was washed and stitched. For those who don't recall the scar on my knee, it's "Y" shaped with each branch about 2-3 inches long and is still quite visible. I also had a small puncture cut on the top of the knee.

Summary of the injuries - my knee hit the dashboard and the puncture wound probably was caused by a key on my key ring. In the next hours/days, a vivid bruise made it clear that the abdominal pain was a severe bruise from the seatbelt. I also had a scrape on my shoulder from the shoulder harness. It's was pretty obvious that more serious or maybe even fatal injuries were prevented by my seatbelt - aided by the Honda's transverse engine which was fairly unique at that time.

So I get stitched up. I call my sister, Laura, who was staying at my house that week, so she can come pick me up and then I'm laid up at home for the next week or so. My theory on how the accident happened and also how this event changed our lives will be coming up in future entries. A link to the newspaper article about the accident is on the left.

...in a movie theater far, far away...

In the spring of 1977 I started seeing ads for a new movie that was coming out soon called "Star Wars". I was and still am a big fan of all kinds of Sci-Fi films (2001, Forbidden Planet, Silent Running are among some of my favorites) and this looked like a real knockout, from what the ad showed me. When I got settled in CA, I decided it was finally time to see just how good it was. I do not think it was showing in very many places at the time but the Century 22 theaters in San Jose had it, so I checked it out.

Needless to say, it was a big hit with me. I think I may have seen it at least one more time before I invited Ellyn to go see it. I knew she was at least a little interested in the genre, so I thought it would be a safe bet she would go for it. Did she ever.

From Ellyn: I recall being only a little disappointed that Geoff went to see SW without me but, remember, that at this time that Geoff and I were just work pals who did a couple things a week outside of work so it didn't bother me much. However, I did think it was pretty intriguing that he went to movies alone - I had never known anybody else who did that. He still does that when there is a movie he really wants to see that I don't want to see.

So we learned that summer that we both really enjoyed Star Wars and we both loved seeing it again and again. And each of the 6 or so times we saw it that year, there were always long waits in lines that stretched all across the parking lot. It was a phenomena that may never be repeated. And all these years later - after the re-releases and the sequels and the fun of sharing the Saga with our sons, I still get a thrill when the music starts and the wording begins to recede to the distance....."In a galaxy far, far away..."

In that movie theater now far, far away, I don't know which we would have less expected - the longevity of Star Wars or the longevity of our relationship??

See the links in the left column for reviews and articles about this innovative new movie. The one about Star Wars almost not being made is really worth a read.

Memory refreshing. Please wait....

So Ellyn and I were doing some recollecting yesterday and she said she remembered me taking her to a race track close to where I lived in San Jose. I could not, for the life of me, remember going to a race track in San Jose, with or without her. She Googled "San Jose Speedway" and came up with a reference to a track at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, which was just a short distance from my apartment. However, she did not remember going to the fairgrounds to see the races.

More searching turned up a reference to San Jose Speedway being near the Reid-Hillview Airport, which was also close to my apartment. Another reference mentioned it moved to the fairgrounds in 1978 from the "Quimby-Tully" location, an intersection near the airport. The picture on this website made Ellyn think it was the place where we went.

One of our dates I do remember was the time we went to visit Ellyn's friend Joel and his first wife, Toby, at their house in Morgan Hill, south of San Jose, and I talked her into riding there on my motorcycle. This was after I had sold my Honda 350 and bought a new 550 (ah the power of a real paycheck). I also got her her own blue helmet. It was the only time she ever used it.

I also remember they had a very steep driveway and I would not go up or down it with her on the bike. I think that was ok with her.

Fourth of July Weekend 1977

On the right is a photo of my first car - a Dodge Swinger in front of my little San Jose house. I had gotten it used from my parents when I graduated from college four years before I met Geoff. It was a very practical car (and not too different than the Accord that I now drive).

However, in the spring of 1977, I decided that that blue Dart wasn't quite "me" so I bought a little red 1977 Honda Civic for a whopping $4000 (which at time was probably 1/4 of my annual salary). Below is a photo (from later in '77) of Geoff washing a little Honda (though not the one I had bought in 6/77). I really enjoyed zipping around in my new little Honda so my recollection is that one of the days of 1977's Fourth of July weekend, Geoff and I took a road trip in the little Honda to visit my friend, Lorna, at her parent's home in San Mateo. I'm fairly certain that we took the scenic Skyline Blvd but don't recall what we did at Lorna's or who else was there. Zipping around in my little Honda to various places was the next step of Geoff's and my growing friendship and that first little Honda was destined to play a larger role in our relationship. More on that in future posts.