Graham Brenna

On June 28, 1998 my mom, myself and a family friend were in a car crash. It was my sister’s birthday and we were driving home from her birthday dinner. She was riding in a different car with our future step-dad. We were driving through an intersection and a man tried to turn left and crossed our path.

We collided.

As the three of us sat there in our seats… in the midst of the airbag dust… everything was silent. I rolled down my window and a woman came up to me and in a very calm warm voice, she said,

The car is on fire… we need to get you out now.

I tried to open my door but couldn’t because it was crunched. She had a better angle on it and tore it open with ease.

I climbed out.

Our family friend climbed out the rear passenger door.

My mom tried to open her door but couldn’t because the other car was blocking it. I panicked. The woman told my mom to crawl across the center of the car and exit through my door. She did and we safely made our way to the sidewalk.

My mom and I like to think of that woman as our angel. In the midst of a flaming car… she was calm. Her calmness kept us calm. We never saw her again. She didn’t walk us to the curb. But the way she responded to the chaos around us kept us at ease and we thank her for that. This video reminded me of my crash because of the daughter’s angel wings. As she comes to the rescue of her father… she looks like an angel.

My seat belt kept me from flying through the windshield that night.

Wear your seat belt.

I love the Winter Olympics. Out of the two different seasonal Olympics… the winter sports are my favorite. Probably because I love to go skiing… but I think there’s more too it than that. I like the way mountains look when they’re covered with snow. I like the idea of sitting by a warm fireplace in a remote ski lodge somewhere drinking a cup of hot chocolate. I am especially caught up in the current Olympics, not only because of the winter aspect but because of the location.

After watching the Opening Ceremony… I, more than ever, want to visit Canada again! It is such a beautiful country. I would someday love to go skiing at Whistler Blackcomb. Even before the Olympics… Whistler has been on my wish list of places to ski. So deep down… I would love to just run away and join the Olympics. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone was able to take 2 weeks off and just have a worldwide Olympic celebration? I think that would be neat.

Okay… enough dreaming. However, since I have used my Visa card recently, I suppose I’m entered to win free trips to the Winter Olympics FOR LIFE! Man… that would be the cat’s pajamas! Maybe my chances of winning are better because I also drink Coca-Cola!

[Image by: ruczko]

I’ve been on vacation in Winter Park, Colorado since last Thursday (2/4/10). It’s been a great time of relaxation and skiing. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to ski in Winter Park, CO for a number of years and I am so grateful to the family that allows me to stay in their condo each season. This season, it was really fun to have my friend Brandon (center) and my cousin Mike (right) along with me. Brandon and I met in college at North Central and he now lives in Idaho. Mike and I are cousins and grew up living in adjoining towns in Illinois, he now lives in Arizona.

This weekend was a great time hanging out with friends and just relaxing. It was a good time spent with good friends and a good time getting revitalized.