BOCA BETH: One Song at a Time

Never had I had been involved in a car accident of this magnitude.

Never have I brushed so close to death.

Never have I felt so very grateful to be typing to my Boca Beth family, my community of readers, and here to hug and kiss and share.

This weekend I flew to St. Louis, Missouri to share in the happiness of my sister’s son’s wedding.  I flew up with my sister-in-law as well as my brother Greg and his wife. 

The four of us jokingly rode around in a rental car we referred to a ‘the boat’ due to its very large size - a Grand Marquis that drove like and parked like a boat!!!  It was the very size of this rental car that - along with God’s hand on us during the impact - saved all of our lives.

We were driving in the hills of Washington, Missouri after the wedding reception, and I was the only one of the four of us who had shared in a little wine - the driver and the other two passengers all drank soda.  At the foot of the hill was a Stop Sign that came up quickly in the dark night with no street lights.  The driver did not see the sign, and as my brother yelled to her to stop, a white passenger truck crossed our path, and we hit it towards the middle section of its flat bed.

We spun out of control, the air bags deployed, and I recall thinking to myself, “This is what it feels like to die…”  And as the car stopped its spin, it began rolling backwards, to which my brother’s wife yelled out for the driver to apply the brakes to stop the rolling.  We came to a gentle stop.  (We found out the next day that had we kept rolling we would have rolled right off the side of a hill.)

The impact of the accident totaled our rental car, and the slim opening left for me to escape the car on my passenger side was due to the front end of the car being now up in the windshield, creating a very slim escape area.  We all four feared the car might blow, but it did not, and we were soon assisted by locals who had witnessed the entire accident as they were right behind our vehicle. 

They flashed their flashlight into our eyes to check for responsiveness, called the emergency vehicles and their crews, and truly responded with a quickness I could not comprehend.  We found out later that this intersection is the worst in the city of Washington, MO hence their familiarity with the severity of accidents there.

Our driver experienced abrasions from the air bag, whereas I experienced pain and bruising to my left side and breast area due to the seat belt along with both knees bruised and scraped.  Both she and I were checked for vitals by the EMTs on site - no one had to be taken to a local hospital.

And so I sit here, almost in a state of disbelief as I recount the accident, filling orders for my Boca Beth Program and e-mailing Oprah’s show about the ‘O’ effect and how I know now how I really must touch more children with my passion for second language learning should I really pass on to another world.

God had his hand on us as we hit that truck and spun out of control.  He was not ready for us to come to Him … I am so grateful He wants us to have more Earthly days as I feel my work as a mother, as a partner, as a friend, and as the founder of Boca Beth is not done.  I know that what I do here on Earth is for Him and His good.  I selfishly want more time with my loved ones here on Earth.

May God Bless You - Beth Butler