Murphy's World

Running Through a Car Wash at 60 m.p.h.

Dear Murphy,

On a dark rainy evening back in 1980, I hit a puddle of water so bad that I felt the front of my ’79 Camaro lift up, and the engine died. An 18-wheeler was in the lane to my left. Rolling at about 60 m.p.h. with a dead engine, I turned on my emergency flashers and started creeping to the right. Suddenly I heard air horns. All I could see were the running lights of the 18-
wheeler to my left, which I steered as closely to as possible.

As soon as I was literally neck-to-neck with the middle yellow trailer light, the sound of air horns was replaced by the sounds of a car wash. The rig to my right passed by, and water from the street surrounded us as if we were in the middle of a hurricane. This all happened in a blink of an eye.

Thanks to the trucker’s air horns and the lights on the trailer, I was saved from a lot of pain and misery.

Moses Markowski

Dear Moses,

The last time a guy named Moses parted the sea, he wasn’t doing 60 m.p.h. in a ’79 Camaro, but, what the heck, whatever floats your boat. Those of us who travel Murphy’s World on a regular basis know all too well that s@!t happens. It’s nice to hear that miracles happen, too.

It’s not often we receive a letter from a driver in a four-wheeler, and when we do, the letter-writer is usually complaining about someone in a big rig dousing them for all the wrong reasons. Thanks for reminding the motoring public that not every over-the-road professional is a rolling menace to society.

Now that you’ve survived your brush with disaster and have a trucker to thank for saving your life, as well as washing your car, I hope you will continue to see over-the-road professionals in a different light. Sure, there are a few bad apples out there, but not nearly enough to spoil the barrel. The fact is, most truckers take pride in their profession and place safety above all else. As for the car wash, consider it a bonus.

Regards,

Murphy and Lucky Dog