I was hit by a car this afternoon.

Actually, it was more like an SUV.

I was walking across the street at Rideau and Sussex after work, and just as I was about to reach the sidewalk, this SUV at the stop line surged forward about six feet.  The front grill rammed into my right hand, and I kind of ended up hugging the hood in a futile attempt to stop the vehicle.  I remember locking eyes with the driver through the windshield for a second – her mouth was open and her eyes were huge – before I scrambled over to the sidewalk and hurried off down the street.

My heart was pounding in my chest for the next couple of blocks, and tons of thoughts raced through my head.  I wondered whether I should have said anything to her, or taken down her licence plate number.  I wished I had taken a two-handed swing at her headlight with my golf umbrella.  That would have felt great.

Fortunately, I was just shaken and not hurt.  It could have been a pretty bad situation, though, if the driver hadn’t found the brake pedal so quickly.  The boys will get extra long hugs from me tonight…