Walking With Her Daughter by Jessica Barksdale Inclan

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Powell's Books

Yesterday I read student work for hours, so that meant, for the most part, I sat at my desk much of the day.  I wrote, I read student work, I went onto youtube.com.  You know, the basics.

When on youtube, I've been trying to focus on watching fun commercials, but somehow, I found my way to this video, one that has apparently been sending folks into paroxysms of weeping.  After watching it and then doing a small search on other car accident related videos, this one with the car metaphor and no real car is much easier to take, and, I think, more meaningful.

After watching it, I remembered how leaning to buckle up was part of my childhood.  When I was young, wearing a seatbelt was not law.  It was seen as slightly paranoid, even.  Only fussy, panicky people put them on.  We were clearly a fussy, panicky family.  We always wore them.  In fact, my parents had to install a makeshift one in the old 1960 Mercedes they had.  Our 1968 Sportwagon actually came with fabulous over the shoulder seat belts along with those for the waist.  We were high tech fussy, panicky people.

And my mother would always turn around and ask, "Buckled up?"

Of course we were.  And I can still sing the "Buckle up for safety, buckle up," song by heart.

And my children grew up in a world with car seats and buckles.  There was never any question about whether or not to use one.  It was the law.  Click it or ticket, as they say.

It's a miracle we aren't all dead already from driving.  Go out on the freeway, and you will agree when you consider how dangerous driving is.  Everyone out there but me is crazy!  So the least we can all do, I think, is make the possibility of death less possible.

Click it or ticket.

Jessica