I'm an airplane nut, first class. Back in 1974, a friend of mine and I drove from Alabama to Oshkosh, WI to attend the big Experimental Aircraft Association Convention. On our way home, we decided to make a little detour to Dayton, OH to visit the Air Force Museum. It was a long, tiring trip, especially since we missed the turnoff to pick up the bypass around Chicago. We ended up spending several hours driving across town on a rainy Friday night. Our plan was to get to Dayton not too long after midnight and then sleep in the car. Instead, we ended up driving all night with little sleep.

After visiting the museum, we got in the car and started driving home. While going across Kentucky, I was driving in the left lane while passing a car. Being tired, everything was kind of hazy. I remember seeing a car ahead of me swerve wildly and that got my attention.

Ahead of me, less than 100 yards away, was a pickup truck driving the wrong on the interstate. I was in a Honda Civic, he was in a full sized pickup, and he was in my lane. I don't know how fast he was going, but I was doing 70 MPH, so our closing speed had to be at least 100 MPH. We were less than 2 seconds from a head on collision.

My Civic had really tight steering and great handling. Normally, all I needed to do to change lanes at that speed was to turn the steering wheel a few degrees. I turned the wheel hard to the right and managed to keep the car under control. I swear I did the world's fastest lane change. Luckily, the lane was clear so I had a place to go.

A split second later, we crossed. You know how people say that time slows down when things like this happen? It's true. I swear that I got a good luck at the driver's face. He was an old man driving hunched over the steering wheel. I don't know if he was drunk, illiterate, stupid, or all of the above, but I do know that he needed a shave. The image was that clear even thought it only took a fraction of a second for us to pass one another.

I just kept on driving with a white knuckle death grip on the steering wheel, stuttering like a Morse code imitation. My friend saw what happened and sat muttering, "I would've hit him. I would've hit the son of a bitch!" Fortunately, neither of us had to change our pants.

I never even thought of stopping or trying to find a place to call the police. It was a subdued drive for the next couple hours. Gary and I knew we were very lucky to be alive. If that car ahead of me hadn't gotten my attention, I wouldn't have had time to react. If my car didn't have terrific handling or if the car I was passing had blocked the lane, I would've died. There's no way I would've survived a head on collision at those speeds.

This event really made an impression on me. I remember it like it was yesterday, not 30 years ago. I knew that I was just as vulnerable to the bad things that happen in life as anyone else. That's a good lesson for a 17 year old boy to learn. Life is precious. It can end in an instant*. Live it to the utmost. Sometimes, it doesn't matter what you do. You can get killed by someone else, like what almost happened to me that day in Kentucky.

* Several weeks ago, we had a tragic auto incident here in town that illustrates the point. Three young men, all in their early 20s, were driving into Colorado Springs to attend a wedding. Going the opposite direction, a 19 year old driver looked down to fumble with a CD. He lost control of his car and crossed the median, coming down on top of the other car. All three men in that car were killed. They weren't doing anything wrong, they had on their seatbelts, and they were driving properly, but they were killed just the same. In a way, four lives were ruinded that day. The 19 year old driver is facing criminal charges for vehicular manslaughter. He'll very likely get sent to prison, leaving him with a felony conviction that will make life much more difficult. But then, he'll still be alive.