October 28, 1996 . . . 14 years later and I still remember every little detail. It was my first year at Colorado State and, because of marching band, I had 200 new friends. One of those friends was Jeff. He was one of those friends with whom you automatically hit if off. We had only really met about two weeks earlier and yet, had become good enough friends that I was hanging out with him and his parents after a week. We hung out all the time. There was a piano in the lobby of his dorm and he would play and I would sing. We should have done that that night . . .
We both needed to get out of the dorms so we took Jeff's Jeep (I didn't have a car at the time) and did some four-wheeling up by Horsetooth Reservoir. He even made me drive at one point and, even though I was scared to death, I'm glad he pushed me to do it because I don't know if I would have done it otherwise. We drove back down to Fort Collins and got some hot chocolate at Denny's at Hwy. 14 (Mulberry) and I-25. Remember the hot chocolate. . .
We drove east on Hwy. 14 where there are many dirt roads. He was driving again at this point. We took this random dirt road and went around the corner and the back wheels of the Jeep didn't catch. We spun 180 degrees and then flipped end-over-end into an irrigation ditch, landing on all four wheels. After the shock wore off (which I honestly don't think happened until the next morning), we climbed out of the ditch and called Jeff's parents (who lived in Greeley) and they came to get us. The Jeep was trashed, the ditch had to be at least 15-20 feet deep and yet, we walked away from that with a scrape a piece and some soreness the day after. Oh, and the aforementioned hot chocolate? Mine ended up in his lap and his ended up in my face, which was the funny part of the whole night. His parents told us we were lucky to be alive. No kidding . . .
So as I look back on that fateful day some 14 years ago, I don't look back on it with sadness or regret because it could have been so much worse. What if one (or both) of us wasn't wearing a seatbelt? What if we had driven a few more miles out or weren't able to get a hold of his parents? I am grateful that October 28, 1996 happened because it helped make me who I am today. I am grateful for Jeff and his parents, who looked after me like I was a member of the family; I practically became one after that night. I am grateful for my family, who got one scary phone call at 1am that morning. I am grateful for my band family, who showered me with hugs when the news of that night spread like wildfire, as you can only imagine it would. And I am SO grateful that I can look back and thank God that there were no "what if's" that night . . .
