Back in Business

On January 4, 2011, I got up just like any day. I got dressed, had a little coffee, helped my wife prepare our son for school and then dropped him off for a day of fun and excitement. However, on this day I took a different route because I missed the light. This route took me behind Crabtree Mall and to an alternate road so that I could get to the Beltline. I was at a stop sign waiting to pull out into traffic and preparing myself to what is everyday a mad dash to the exit. As the truck pulled away from the turn there was a loud bang and then silence. This made me look into my rear view mirror in hopes that it wasn’t a car or something I collided into. Because I was still moving I attributed the loud noise to a man hole cover I saw close to the intersection and went on my way.

Once I made it to the Beltline, I was on my way. Within seconds another truck was at my side honking madly! He was letting me know that my tailgate was down. Without a moments passing so many thoughts went racing thru my mind! I made it to the side of the street and witnessed in horror as I approached the rear of my truck, all of my belongings had made their way to the rear of the truck bed and dangled off the tailgate. Now this is one of those moments that time slows down and the sound of my breathing was in my ears! My Simms Reel Briefcase which held my most prized material possessions was not in its place. They were no longer in the truck.

In panic, I raced back into the truck and gathered myself as I headed back to the intersection where the infamous loud bang made itself known! Within moments I was at the site with no bag patiently waiting for me. Who could be so low and how am I going to tell anyone, “they fell off the back of my truck.”

From hear I will skip the sleepless nights and fetal positions with safety blankets.

Fast forward to today and all is well. All of my reels have been replaced and I am ready to stand in cold water once again. I have only my insurance company and David F. from GOPC to thank! David patiently helped me reorder my reels while my insurance agent and I are now on a first name basis.

The one thing that I have learned from this is to record and photograph all of your belongings that in a moments notice may be lost. In the heat of the moment, I forgot to list a few items and made them onto the policy at the last moment. With the ease of digital cameras today, take a moment and photograph items and make a digital list so that when you are at your worst, you are prepared!

I will be the guy on the water smiling! See you there!

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