There are times it is scary how quickly one’s life can be snuffed out due to a momentary mistake. I nearly got killed driving home from having my oil changed today. I was turning left across the highway to go home, when I suddenly realized that not only were a bunch of cars racing towards me eastbound, but a van heading west in the outside lane was also coming towards me. Thank heavens my instinct was not to step on the brake–I would not be writing this now if it had been–but to accelerate across the highway and onto a side road, which I barely reached ahead of the westbound van. I am still shaken from it. Sometimes we forget how ephemeral and precious life can be. If I were a cat, I definitely used one of my nine lives today.