QOTD: Tell Us About Your Near Death Experience

carIt’s 2009. My mother retired and moved to Maui. Visiting her twice a year was expensive. During one visit, I decided to save some money and got a rental car from a place akin to Rent-A-Wreck. I got this purple jalopy of a Nissan Sentra.The car smelled of cigarette smoke. Salt stains from a 1,000 surfers smudged the torn-up cloth upholstery. It was a hot mess. But I was proud of saving $15 a day, compared to a new car from the airport rental place.

I loaded up my wife and mother– the two people that meant the most to me on this planet, and took them Upcountry to a botanical garden. It was about 2,000 feet up. We had a great time, and we headed home, downhill.

Within a mile, the brakes were gone. My foot was to the floor and the car did not even slow down. Worse, about 1,000 feet ahead, there was a Stop sign. Beyond that Stop sign, a cliff. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I yelled at my wife and mom to make sure their seatbelts were fastened, and I purposely drove the car into a nearby ditch. I can still remember the sound of my mom screaming from the back seat.

We got out of the car, unscathed. It was the lowest point of my life. To save a few dollars, I put us all at risk. Not cool.

What is your near death experience?

Image source: Maxichamp

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