The following is a teaser that helped to inspire the journey of writing my second book, The Feisty Woman’s Guide to Surviving Mr. Wonderful Karma Rules. I'll be posting information about the book's release in the coming weeks.
Sunday had started out like any other Sunday: a great breakfast with my family, followed by attending church with my mom, niece, and nephews. We all shared lunch at the Truck Stop, my favorite local eatery. I ate blueberry pancakes as usual and had some salad as well. After gassing up the car, I packed my things to begin the journey to New York. I hit the road a bit after one o’clock with a bright sunlit sky greeting me as I rolled along the interstate.
Like most other Sundays, the traffic was alternating between light and heavy. Expecting an uneventful drive, I talked to a friend and a relative (both hands-free, of course). I observed the requisite bathroom break at the nearest rest stop, and as I rejoined the flow of traffic, I thought about the concerts that were scheduled soon for my music students. I felt that my students were well prepared, ready to perform an awesome concert the ensuing week.
Suddenly, I felt a stomach twinge and wondered if my lunchtime salad was about to give me some of much-dreaded indigestion that I often suffered from. I snarfed down a few Tums and felt better. I also ate a few pretzels, my go-to snack for stomach upsets, which helped briefly calm my stomach. I had just hung up with my friend when I once again felt extremely nauseated, worse than I could ever remember. I had a headache and felt that my eyes were struggling to focus as I drove.
As I continued down the road, I felt sicker and sicker. I slowed down a bit and looked at my hands, which were shaking while clinging to the steering wheel. My vision was also blurred, my eyes were spinning and watering, and I started barfing everywhere. I immediately slowed down and merged into the right lane. Just at that moment, my car spoke to me. “You are not feeling well,” it said. “Who would you like us to call?”
I was stunned and said nothing because I felt that I was imagining all of this. Who was this “voice”? Where did it come from? Being the religious woman that I am, I immediately thought that it was the voice of “God.” I said nothing and in another ten seconds, it repeated the same message to me. I resisted the urge to respond sarcastically and instead responded that yes, I did not feel well. What in the world was going on? Had I somehow gotten food poisoning that was causing me to hallucinate? (As a point of reference, all cars manufactured since 2018 are equipped with this safety system. I was unaware of it, but I later called Toyota and they confirmed this with me. A friend consulted her Honda manual, and it has the same system.)
To see how this story evolves, stay tuned for my next teaser!
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