Janio Vandretti - August 12, 2017
(For you younger folks, Mario Andretti is a famous race car driver who has survived numerous spectacular crashes.)
While I was out doing my jog-walk this morning (more walk than jog, I must confess,) I listened to a Ted Talk called “Hidden.” One of the speakers was Ed Yong, and his topic was “Can We Fall Prey to Hidden Parasites?” One parasite he was describing is toxoplasmosis and it’s pretty normal for cats to have it. And it’s beneficial for them – its smell confuses rodents so that they run toward the cat, rather than away – assuring the cat of a reliable food source.
Yong also stated that there is evidence that people who have had toxoplasmosis (an infection we can get from cats) are at a higher risk of getting into car accidents! But the evidence is not conclusive.
I think if he added me to his sample, his stats would all of a sudden become irrefutable. I have scooped the cat boxes of more than a thousand cats, and I have “participated in” FIVE car accidents. OK, they weren’t necessarily my fault, and they were only fender benders. Still it’s pretty impressive! (What’s more impressive is that our insurer still covers us and that anyone will agree to ride with me. Trust me, I don’t offer.)
Accident #1. 50% my fault. I was 27 and expectant with our third child. I knew I had to learn to drive or I would never be able to leave the house again. What hubs and I didn’t know when we bought the stick-shift (manual) transmission car a year earlier, was that this would not be the best car for a pregnancy-brained scaredy-cat to learn to drive with.
We were in our driveway on Hawthorne St. in Sudbury and it had a fair bit of traffic. Laur was riding shot-gun, and helping look for cars. Seeing none, he yelled, “Hit it!” He meant hit the gas, of course. But instead of shifting into reverse, I accidentally shifted into first – and drove our Mazda into my dad’s beloved Chrysler. My folks were up for one of their monthly visits – though I must say, each visit ended up becoming a rescue mission of some kind.
I was mortified. My dad came out “white as a sheet” to have a look at the damage. And there was none. Phew! “Tin against steel!” he said as he went back into the house. Though I expect he spent the night sleeping in the car instead of the motel. Not because he and Mom were having a fight, but to assure his sweet “Betsy” that the evil car-wrecker was far away and Betsy was safe.
(You may be wondering why I consider myself only 50% at fault? Well, Laur did say, “Hit it!”)
Accident #2. 50% my fault. Carolyn, our third child, is now about 10. We went to Pet Valu to buy some food for her beloved rats. (I think that’s why we were there – we had so many household pets! Our business was so guaranteed that the store owner offered us an account there.) When we came out, I couldn’t find the vehicle. That’s nothing new – I have the memory of a goldfish with Alzheimer’s. But Carolyn did not forget things. “Mom, the van is gone!”
How could that have happened? Probably related to the fact that I never locked it. (Didn’t lock the house door either, but that’s another story or two.) Why didn’t I lock the van? I figured if someone wanted anything from it, I’d rather they just open the door and take it, rather than smash the window. And we did lose a cassette container of gospel music that way. (Hope it did the thief some good!)
I went back to Pet Valu and phoned my hubs. “Laurie, just so you know. Carolyn and I are fine.” Laur responded, “Jannie, what did you do to the van!?” Hmm, it wasn’t what I had done… I informed the police and they found it abandoned in Chelmsford a few hours later. Seems like some lads just wanted a ride home and simply snapped the ignition cap off, and used a screwdriver to start the van. What’s more interesting, is that Laur and I drove it around for weeks like this. It was super handy. (And I still didn’t lock the van.)
Accident #3. Number three was only 50% my fault. The owner had parked in a spot clearly marked “No parking.” I failed to look and I backed I into him. $900 dollars later… Gah! I was bringing kittens from the Rainbow Shelter to a local pet food store. Very expensive kittens I must say.
Accident #4. Number four was completely my fault. We were moving “my” shop – Small Things Cats – from one location to another. I was so stressed that I put the car into reverse instead of drive and drove into the van behind me. Thankfully, it had a big wheel on the back which protected it from any damage. But our back windshield shattered on impact and I banged my head. I was out of commission for close to a week (after I finished the move, of course. Needs must.).
Accident #5. 200% my fault. It happened in February when we were home for a week, having spent three months in Arizona and intending to spend three more months there. I was driving to my local school to volunteer and I misjudged how much space I had backing out, and I tapped someone’s car. I felt terrible. I left a note on her car, a note with the superintendent, and a note with the office manager. The other travel mishaps I could forgive myself for – either because there was no damage done, someone else did it, or I was only partially to blame.
But this time it was me – all me. Hubs was incredulous. “How could you not see that car?!” “I did see it. I just misjudged…” And I’d be causing upset to a senior. I know how upset Laurence would be if someone drove into his beloved vehicle. Thankfully, the woman whose car I hit was completely fine about it since she had done the same thing when her husband and she had a van. “Those vans, so hard to maneuver them,” she said. Phew!
Not only was she was forgiving, she was kind. She took her car to three different shops to get the best estimate. I continue to be grateful every time I see her vehicle, and even more so when I squeak by without scratching it!
What have I learned from all of this? Perhaps that I shouldn’t have a gigantic van? (This is our third.) But I like having a van because I like hauling and slugging stuff. This makes no sense at all, I know, but I actually enjoy helping people move. It must be an illness.
Aha! This is what I have learned. That toxoplasmosis protozoa? The one that makes rats run up to cats instead of away from them – thus guaranteeing them a ready food source? This virus makes me want to put cats into crates and drive them around. In Sudbury, I was out to the Rainbow Shelter at least once a week picking up a half-dozen cats and a myriad of kittens. I enjoyed carrying these crates out to my car and into the cat rooms at my house. And then – when they were ready for adoption – to Small Things Cats. Heck, if a person didn’t have transportation, I’d actually deliver their cat to them.
Those opportunistic parasites! OK, this time I’m referring to cats. The saying is true. “Cats don’t have owners; they have slaves!”
(Note to my crazy cat lady friends. I’m just hackin’ around. But did you know that toxoplasmosis is also associated with increased rates of schizophrenia? Hence the protozoa may cause the human to become a little “unusual” and come prefer to cats to people. Infinitely so. See http://www.medicaldaily.com/crazy-cat-lady-toxoplasmosis-parasitic-infection-brain-and-behavior-390436 )
While I was out doing my jog-walk this morning (more walk than jog, I must confess,) I listened to a Ted Talk called “Hidden.” One of the speakers was Ed Yong, and his topic was “Can We Fall Prey to Hidden Parasites?” One parasite he was describing is toxoplasmosis and it’s pretty normal for cats to have it. And it’s beneficial for them – its smell confuses rodents so that they run toward the cat, rather than away – assuring the cat of a reliable food source.
Yong also stated that there is evidence that people who have had toxoplasmosis (an infection we can get from cats) are at a higher risk of getting into car accidents! But the evidence is not conclusive.
I think if he added me to his sample, his stats would all of a sudden become irrefutable. I have scooped the cat boxes of more than a thousand cats, and I have “participated in” FIVE car accidents. OK, they weren’t necessarily my fault, and they were only fender benders. Still it’s pretty impressive! (What’s more impressive is that our insurer still covers us and that anyone will agree to ride with me. Trust me, I don’t offer.)
Accident #1. 50% my fault. I was 27 and expectant with our third child. I knew I had to learn to drive or I would never be able to leave the house again. What hubs and I didn’t know when we bought the stick-shift (manual) transmission car a year earlier, was that this would not be the best car for a pregnancy-brained scaredy-cat to learn to drive with.
We were in our driveway on Hawthorne St. in Sudbury and it had a fair bit of traffic. Laur was riding shot-gun, and helping look for cars. Seeing none, he yelled, “Hit it!” He meant hit the gas, of course. But instead of shifting into reverse, I accidentally shifted into first – and drove our Mazda into my dad’s beloved Chrysler. My folks were up for one of their monthly visits – though I must say, each visit ended up becoming a rescue mission of some kind.
I was mortified. My dad came out “white as a sheet” to have a look at the damage. And there was none. Phew! “Tin against steel!” he said as he went back into the house. Though I expect he spent the night sleeping in the car instead of the motel. Not because he and Mom were having a fight, but to assure his sweet “Betsy” that the evil car-wrecker was far away and Betsy was safe.
(You may be wondering why I consider myself only 50% at fault? Well, Laur did say, “Hit it!”)
Accident #2. 50% my fault. Carolyn, our third child, is now about 10. We went to Pet Valu to buy some food for her beloved rats. (I think that’s why we were there – we had so many household pets! Our business was so guaranteed that the store owner offered us an account there.) When we came out, I couldn’t find the vehicle. That’s nothing new – I have the memory of a goldfish with Alzheimer’s. But Carolyn did not forget things. “Mom, the van is gone!”
How could that have happened? Probably related to the fact that I never locked it. (Didn’t lock the house door either, but that’s another story or two.) Why didn’t I lock the van? I figured if someone wanted anything from it, I’d rather they just open the door and take it, rather than smash the window. And we did lose a cassette container of gospel music that way. (Hope it did the thief some good!)
I went back to Pet Valu and phoned my hubs. “Laurie, just so you know. Carolyn and I are fine.” Laur responded, “Jannie, what did you do to the van!?” Hmm, it wasn’t what I had done… I informed the police and they found it abandoned in Chelmsford a few hours later. Seems like some lads just wanted a ride home and simply snapped the ignition cap off, and used a screwdriver to start the van. What’s more interesting, is that Laur and I drove it around for weeks like this. It was super handy. (And I still didn’t lock the van.)
Accident #3. Number three was only 50% my fault. The owner had parked in a spot clearly marked “No parking.” I failed to look and I backed I into him. $900 dollars later… Gah! I was bringing kittens from the Rainbow Shelter to a local pet food store. Very expensive kittens I must say.
Accident #4. Number four was completely my fault. We were moving “my” shop – Small Things Cats – from one location to another. I was so stressed that I put the car into reverse instead of drive and drove into the van behind me. Thankfully, it had a big wheel on the back which protected it from any damage. But our back windshield shattered on impact and I banged my head. I was out of commission for close to a week (after I finished the move, of course. Needs must.).
Accident #5. 200% my fault. It happened in February when we were home for a week, having spent three months in Arizona and intending to spend three more months there. I was driving to my local school to volunteer and I misjudged how much space I had backing out, and I tapped someone’s car. I felt terrible. I left a note on her car, a note with the superintendent, and a note with the office manager. The other travel mishaps I could forgive myself for – either because there was no damage done, someone else did it, or I was only partially to blame.
But this time it was me – all me. Hubs was incredulous. “How could you not see that car?!” “I did see it. I just misjudged…” And I’d be causing upset to a senior. I know how upset Laurence would be if someone drove into his beloved vehicle. Thankfully, the woman whose car I hit was completely fine about it since she had done the same thing when her husband and she had a van. “Those vans, so hard to maneuver them,” she said. Phew!
Not only was she was forgiving, she was kind. She took her car to three different shops to get the best estimate. I continue to be grateful every time I see her vehicle, and even more so when I squeak by without scratching it!
What have I learned from all of this? Perhaps that I shouldn’t have a gigantic van? (This is our third.) But I like having a van because I like hauling and slugging stuff. This makes no sense at all, I know, but I actually enjoy helping people move. It must be an illness.
Aha! This is what I have learned. That toxoplasmosis protozoa? The one that makes rats run up to cats instead of away from them – thus guaranteeing them a ready food source? This virus makes me want to put cats into crates and drive them around. In Sudbury, I was out to the Rainbow Shelter at least once a week picking up a half-dozen cats and a myriad of kittens. I enjoyed carrying these crates out to my car and into the cat rooms at my house. And then – when they were ready for adoption – to Small Things Cats. Heck, if a person didn’t have transportation, I’d actually deliver their cat to them.
Those opportunistic parasites! OK, this time I’m referring to cats. The saying is true. “Cats don’t have owners; they have slaves!”
(Note to my crazy cat lady friends. I’m just hackin’ around. But did you know that toxoplasmosis is also associated with increased rates of schizophrenia? Hence the protozoa may cause the human to become a little “unusual” and come prefer to cats to people. Infinitely so. See http://www.medicaldaily.com/crazy-cat-lady-toxoplasmosis-parasitic-infection-brain-and-behavior-390436 )