In
1999, I was working hard at getting my computer business established and
playing guitar in Osage Beach at the Main Street Music Hall. The drive from
Branson to Osage Beach was 2 hours long. This meant I was essentially
working a 16-hour day, everyday. In August of that year, it finally caught
up with me. I had been up late, after the drive home the night before,
working on a computer. I had about four hours sleep that night. I worked my
day in the office with no signs of fatigue, so I was not concerned about the
trip to Osage Beach that night. I remember it was a Friday night and my
oldest son David wanted to come with me that night. The drive was pretty
much uneventful, just like any other night. David fell asleep as he was
listening to the radio playing classic oldies.
The trip
was almost over. It had recently rained and the grass was still damp. We
were just on this side of Camdenton, MO on Hwy 54. I even remember the song
that was playing on the radio, Domino by Van Morrison. I was enjoying it. My
eyes grew heavy for only a brief moment, only a second or two, but it was
enough time for the car to drift into the opposite lane. I woke up instantly
and saw a pickup truck in the lane about 100 feet from us. David awoke
immediately and screamed, "Dad!" I pulled the wheel to the right in reflex.
The tires hit the wet grass on the side of the road and at that point
steering lost all effect on the control of the car. I'm sure the accident
only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed like minutes. It was like
everything was in slow motion. At the time I had no idea that this I was in
the middle of a miraculous event. The Bible says that time was made for man
and not man for time. At that moment, time seemed to stand still. The car
began to roll, side to side. The first thing that I saw was the doors fly
open. I could see the ground and then the sky out the opening where my door
was. I watched as the car rolled on the ground and I saw my leg crushed
between the door frame, behind my seat, and the ground below. It seemed to
take forever for the vehicle to finally land upside down in the ditch. I
watched the ground and grass come closer and closer to my face until it
stopped abruptly only inches away from my eyes.
It was
over. The vehicle was still running. David and I both were strapped into our
seats with our seatbelts and pretty shaken up. However, we looked each other
over and found that we both had escaped injury...not even a scratch. I saw
the car roll over my leg and the weight of the vehicle crushing it to the
ground, but God had His angels protecting us that day. I have to also give
credit to Honda, too. The cage assembly of the body kept the roof of the car
from crushing the passenger area. When I exited the vehicle, a man that
frequently attended our show in Osage Beach had stopped. He was getting out
of his vehicle about that same moment. It's funny, I made it through the
accident without injury, but I hurt my back getting out of the seatbelt
upside-down. I should have waited for help. As he approached us and I was
getting out he said, "You weren't the only ones in that vehicle!" I had to
proclaim, "Amen, brother!" God had saved my life and the life of my son that
day and I know we were saved for a purpose. I made two decisions that day. I
gave my notice to the show in Osage Beach that I would not be returning the
following season and I knew it was time to begin my quest to find out what
my true purpose is.
In
1999, I was working hard at getting my computer business established and
playing guitar in Osage Beach at the Main Street Music Hall. The drive from
Branson to Osage Beach was 2 hours long. This meant I was essentially
working a 16-hour day, everyday. In August of that year, it finally caught
up with me. I had been up late, after the drive home the night before,
working on a computer. I had about four hours sleep that night. I worked my
day in the office with no signs of fatigue, so I was not concerned about the
trip to Osage Beach that night. I remember it was a Friday night and my
oldest son David wanted to come with me that night. The drive was pretty
much uneventful, just like any other night. David fell asleep as he was
listening to the radio playing classic oldies.
The trip
was almost over. It had recently rained and the grass was still damp. We
were just on this side of Camdenton, MO on Hwy 54. I even remember the song
that was playing on the radio, Domino by Van Morrison. I was enjoying it. My
eyes grew heavy for only a brief moment, only a second or two, but it was
enough time for the car to drift into the opposite lane. I woke up instantly
and saw a pickup truck in the lane about 100 feet from us. David awoke
immediately and screamed, "Dad!" I pulled the wheel to the right in reflex.
The tires hit the wet grass on the side of the road and at that point
steering lost all effect on the control of the car. I'm sure the accident
only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed like minutes. It was like
everything was in slow motion. At the time I had no idea that this I was in
the middle of a miraculous event. The Bible says that time was made for man
and not man for time. At that moment, time seemed to stand still. The car
began to roll, side to side. The first thing that I saw was the doors fly
open. I could see the ground and then the sky out the opening where my door
was. I watched as the car rolled on the ground and I saw my leg crushed
between the door frame, behind my seat, and the ground below. It seemed to
take forever for the vehicle to finally land upside down in the ditch. I
watched the ground and grass come closer and closer to my face until it
stopped abruptly only inches away from my eyes.
It was
over. The vehicle was still running. David and I both were strapped into our
seats with our seatbelts and pretty shaken up. However, we looked each other
over and found that we both had escaped injury...not even a scratch. I saw
the car roll over my leg and the weight of the vehicle crushing it to the
ground, but God had His angels protecting us that day. I have to also give
credit to Honda, too. The cage assembly of the body kept the roof of the car
from crushing the passenger area. When I exited the vehicle, a man that
frequently attended our show in Osage Beach had stopped. He was getting out
of his vehicle about that same moment. It's funny, I made it through the
accident without injury, but I hurt my back getting out of the seatbelt
upside-down. I should have waited for help. As he approached us and I was
getting out he said, "You weren't the only ones in that vehicle!" I had to
proclaim, "Amen, brother!" God had saved my life and the life of my son that
day and I know we were saved for a purpose. I made two decisions that day. I
gave my notice to the show in Osage Beach that I would not be returning the
following season and I knew it was time to begin my quest to find out what
my true purpose is.