I would have been better off if I had thrown the watermelon out....

I adore watermelon...especially the seedless ones that are bright red and so sweet! Yesterday, I couldn't resist buying a whole one for $4.99 while shopping at the nearby Target. I figured that I would cut it in half and give some of it to Dave to take home and enjoy.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be kind of mushy inside...maybe overripe? How disappointing.

So, bright and early this morning, I decided to take it back to Target and get a refund or a fresher melon. I figured that the traffic on the main drag would be light and I could just get it all done quickly.

Boy, was I wrong. The traffic literally came to a total standstill about 3 miles from the Target and I was stuck right in the middle of it all. Except for an occasional creeping up a little bit at a time, I pretty much sat unmoving in my car for at least 30 minutes.

While I was at a complete stop I suddenly felt a hard jolt as the car behind me plowed into my brand new Subaru! He began to pull off to the side of the road and I attempted to follow him. At this point it almost seemed as if he was going to try and drive away...but, he told me later that his conscience got the better of him and he decided to deal with what he had just done.

I got out and looked at the back of my car and saw a ripped hole in the rubber fender...as well as some scratched and dented spots on the frame of the car. I was crushed (no pun intended)...but, thankfully, neither of us was hurt...so I tried to keep it all in perspective.

The 20 something driver of the other car got out and told me that he had sneezed, the car began to move forward, and he accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. He was visibly upset by the whole thing and I felt so badly for him. He was a young marine in the National Guard and his car was filled with fatigues and such. He told me that he had insurance, but did not have his card with him.

We called the police so that a report could be written up...but, we were told that it would be a while in that there was a bad accident right up the road from us.....thus the reason for the traffic being at a standstill.

So, we waited and waited...and got to know each other a bit. He turned out to be a really good kid who had just come back home....and promised me that he would get his insurance information to me as soon as he got home. I got his name, address and phone number...but, trusted that he would make good on his promise.

About 40 minutes later three police cars pulled up to our two cars....and one of them got out and began to get our information.

Unfortunately, the young kid was given a ticket for not having his insurance card on him. We were both given numbers to call on Monday morning to get the full report...and, then we were on our way.

And, yes, the kid did call me later in the afternoon with his insurance information. : )

And, yes, I did make my way to Target to return that !!%^&*##! watermelon....a bit shaken but determined to get rid of that thing....