L is for lessons learned?

I think driving drunk is stupid. I would put in a more descriptive, analytical, collegiate word, but I think stupid sums it up fine. Not only do you put your own life in danger, but you put others lives in danger, as well as other people's property!

I am thankful that the girl who decided to drive drunk only hit our parked car, a sign, and two snowbanks, and did not injure anyone. (Although, I'm pretty sure she's feeling the accident now.) I'm also thankful that the second snowbank stopped her from leaving, like she was originally trying to do.

The accident occurred around 2 early Sunday morning... we heard a noise, but assumed it was our evil cats attacking one another. Then sometime later, we woke to knocking on the door. Brandon went to check it out, came back upstairs and said "the cops are here." Nothing like a 2 am wake up call by the police! Brandon was alert enough to take pictures, and make sure the girl wasn't hurt. We still don't know if she has insurance.

While I'm very upset about all the insurance claims, the fact that we have one running car, and all the headaches that are going to come from this, I must say, it could have been worse for this girl, and I don't wish tooooo much pain on her. However, I must admit, it was enjoyable waving at her as they hauled her off to jail.

Now comes the pondering if she'll learn anything from this. South Dakota isn't as stringent on the DUI laws as I'd like them to be. Brandon has a coworker that had his 3rd DUI, a felony, and has already gotten his license back. He laughs about how he lived in jail for a few months, and still went to work everyday. We don't know anything about this girl... she looked very young, and it makes us wonder if she was even legally allowed to drink. We don't know if this was her first DUI, or if this is something she hasn't learned from in the past.

I guess most of all, you could say that this event semi hits close to home. An unnamed family member decided to drive drunk, get arrested, and then break probation. After a month long jail sentence, it doesn't seem like this person has learned much from the crime. Nothing is stopping this person from driving drunk again. Fortunately, no one was hurt when the first arrest occurred, but who's to say that someone won't be in danger the next time?

I just wish there was more intelligence in the world. When I'm not pregnant (haha), I do enjoy a nice glass of wine or an amaretto sour. However, I do not drive drunk. In fact, I am usually the designated driver, making sure everyone gets home safely. I don't enjoy being around intoxicated people, I can't stand how stupid people get. However, if I have to be around someone when they are drunk to make sure they are home safely, then I'll tolerate the stupidity for a few hours. Brandon and I have always been open with our friends. We don't mind phone calls in the middle of the night asking for a ride home. We don't mind people crashing at our house. We just don't want them driving drunk.

This entry has become longer than I ever intended, but I cannot get this accident off of my mind. I'm upset by the problems it has caused us... a car in an impound lot, lots of insurance paperwork, not knowing what the outcome is going to be, etc. But I'm even more upset for the girl who made the bad decision to drive drunk, and try to flee the scene. I hope she can find help. I hope she doesn't repeat this ever again. Lessons learned? I hope so.

Melissa