Rick Stiebel/Columnist

This email from my niece in response to a recent Rickter Scale really touched a nerve and got me thinking.

She wrote:

Thanks for sharing the column honouring Tom, firefighters and first response teams. Your article prompted me to share this with you.

Strange how weB次元官网网址檙e so solid and fragile at the same time B次元官网网址� Strange that this is the theme, as I was the victim of a car accident last week where I thought that was it for me.

DidnB次元官网网址檛 see anything coming, driving home on Autoroute 15 on the most perfect night of the winter B次元官网网址� no snow, no ice, no wind or cold. A sudden smash on my driverB次元官网网址檚 front side sent me and my car flying to the right to what I thought was heaven. All was white and my face was burning. Just when I thought that I would smash into something at 100 km/h or go barrelling down a Laurentian hill, phase two of the ride kicked in and I was propelled to the left of the three lanes, totally out of control driving with an airbag in my face.

F**k! I never took airbag driving lessons!

Somehow my reflexes got the better of me and I managed to avoid smashing into obstacles and eventually regained straightforwardness in the right lane and slowed down. I managed to pull over and got out of my smoking car without getting hit by oncoming vehicles.

I was in one shaking piece, wow! What happened? I still donB次元官网网址檛 know exactly.

The couple who stopped didnB次元官网网址檛 see anything except an out of control car. First response team, then the ambulance strapping me down with a collar and the police taking care of the rest B次元官网网址� Straight to the hospitalB次元官网网址檚 corridors for a few hours wait. Gave me the opportunity to think about a whole spectrum of thoughts I donB次元官网网址檛 usually ponderB次元官网网址� As I hoped, my spine was fine and I just need a couple of visits to the osteopath.

The guy from the ambulance had stopped to see the person who hit me, the young 17-year-old was alright. He confided in me that he believed she was texting. IB次元官网网址檒l know for sure when I get the police report.

My car is dead, but not me! IB次元官网网址檓 thankful for my luck considering the odds.

Take care uncle and a nice hello to funky Joan!

-Kim Stiebel XXX

I canB次元官网网址檛 read that email without hearing the slight Gallic lilt of KimB次元官网网址檚 accente a Quebecois and remembering the first time I held the littlest version of her days after her birth on July 8, 1966. My brother MaxB次元官网网址檚 daughter will always lease a special place in my heart.

READ MORE: Rickter Scale

She was the first to bestow the official title of B次元官网网址榰ncleB次元官网网址� on me, in both official languages. Kim is not just a treasured gift in her own right, but a living document, a timeless testament to my older brother no longer with us.

Max was a guiding light who nurtured my efforts to be creative in ways that become more precious with each year since his passing in 2006. Every moment, every word shared with Kim is a living, breathing document, a testament to the kind of father, brother and accomplished artist Max was.

To think that Kim, my extraordinary, exceptionally sweet and talented niece, was nearly snatched away forever makes me shudder with uncontrollable dread.

Please, please, if thereB次元官网网址檚 anyone in your life that makes you feel that way, I implore you to think about them long enough to leave your fricking phone alone when youB次元官网网址檙e driving.

Rick Stiebel is a semi-retired local journalist.

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