(Friday, 9-5-08) - Rescue crews had to cut a woman out of a small pickup truck after a crash on U.S. 131 in Kent County Friday.
It happened on U.S. 131 northbound just south of 100th in Byron Township around 8:15 a.m. A truck owned by Fenton Construction was was carrying construction barrels as part of an MDOT road project, when it changed lanes.
The construction truck was going slowly. A 22-year-old woman driving a pickup truck could not slow down in time and crashed into the back of the construction truck.
Crews had to use the jaws of life to get the woman out. She was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. She is expected to survive.
Michigan State Police say the driver of the construction truck is at fault because of the improper lane change.
Troopers closed down one lane while they cleaned up the accident. It has since been reopened.
----------------------------------------

For those that happen to not know yet, I was in a serious accident on the 5th. The copy/paste above is from the news site that broadcasted it that day. Thankfully I
survived, but as the pictures that I added show…my truck is a sardine can.

The list of my damages include: 6 fractures in my lower right leg, a concussion,
black eyes, a good bump on the head, and many scratches/bruises. The concussion
has been frustrating. I tend to forget things frequently to the point of annoyance
and fear. Sometimes the things that are forgotten are simple and small, but other
times they are far more serious. It has also been very hard to concentrate and focus.
Because of the badly broken leg everything in life has become extremely difficult.
For a week I even needed my mother to help me take showers, which was great
of her to help…but incredibly demeaning.

For the most part I'm stuck to a chair or the couch. Since I cannot drive I'm
very limited to what I can do during the day. To keep myself from boredom
I have been listening to music, drawing, and watching the occasional movie.
I've never been a big television fan, and with the concussion reading/writing
is frustrating. I'll probably read this through at least ten times before I post
it just to make sure that it makes some sort of sense. I'll be going through all
of this for the next 2 to 4 months, so I hope my brain fixes itself in the meantime.

Overall I'm grateful. I send a huge thank you out to those that have sent
cards, flowers, and things to help me get better. It all means a lot. Thank you
to those who have stopped by to say hi. Visitors do wonders on all accounts.
My family has been a great help through all of this mess, but it helps to know
that others care.

For the most part I've always been optimistic, and through this I've tried
to stay upbeat. However…we all have our moments, and this is definitely
one of mine. Today especially…I've been very depressive.

I feel lost…crushed…defeated…hopeless. I've lost my spirit.
I can't dance, work, feel accomplished, drive, escape…

I won't lie and say that it's easy. I spend a lot of time alone, and have
nothing to do during that time. I've always been very stubbornly independent,
and with all of this I've had to push that aside. I felt on top of my game right
before the accident, and then it was taken away. I always loved and got much
joy from dancing, driving, and that feeling of accomplishment from a good
days work. Without that I'm feeling very useless. My parents and youngest
brother have been watching over me, and I can't do anything to help back.
Through all of this I'm not looking for pity, or ridiculous amounts of help.
I just needed an outlet for the feelings. I've been keeping in the tears
and emotions so that I didn't dispense them at others expense, but I
discovered today that I can't much longer.

It's rough…and unlike a cold it won't go away anytime soon.
So I've got to find an acceptance with it and hope that all of the fractures
heal correctly so that I'm not stuck with a cane.

Thank you for reading…I just needed a place to let some of it out.

----------------------------------------------------

I'm writing again. The weight of my pen feels as good as it once did. The words start pouring as my fingers genteelly touch the keyboard, debating on backspaces and grammar (or lack there of). I don't know why I feel such surprise.

The "right order" is showing. I think that I may be OK.

-----------------------------------------------------

To the un-stoppable, positive, inspiring, mad man that we all love. Loved...Your constant smiles always brightened up a room, a day, and a page. You were always uplifting...never using excuses or health problems as a crutch. Many fond memories have been scrolling through my head...because even though I am terribly sad I know that he would've wanted us to smile. You will always be in my heart Mike...you will always be in our hearts. When I first heard the news I sank...and was lucky to utter a few words back on the phone. I crumbled to my knees and wept. Although it's been difficult, it is even harder to not be able to comfort those who I know were even closer to him. I know it's not easy, and that San Diego this year will be very hard. However...he makes it easy to smile. To believe in yourself and stop the excuses. To live every day, truly, to the fullest.
Michael Turner: 1971 - 2008 You beat it!

--------------------------------------------

It was my time of the day, in the clean rain washed breezes
Between the boiled eggs and the daily death of work
Between colored scents and flambeed nights
Between sizzling thoughts in a warm shower and a flat tire
Between that smile that I wake with each morning
and the thoughtfulness that ends each night
It was my time of the day...
my time...to take that break
hear the colors of the city pass
see the shades of colors that the sun draws out
and feel that moment of ease
sense of accomplishment
and thought of peace

----------------------------------------

It's a dangerous occupation,
Extreme tourism of the mind.
Traveling the vast wastelands
Of your own memory and thoughts,
Beyond the boundaries of logic and decency,
For, as I often find,
The thin ice of reason may crack beneath your feet,
Plunging you into the icy river of regret
or thrusting you into the clouds
following a crazy heart that got wings
Those waters never give up the dead
and those skies often carry storms
Yet, whichever route you take...
please take my advice
and never forget the solid ground
and those that love you best

---------------------------------------

Step out into the rain
Run! Dance! Soak to your knees
Piano. Touch the keys
Run your fingers over
Look into the mirror
Breath in...
Shatter the glass with
your thoughts and laughs
Breath in...
Let the rain fall on your shoulders
Think of the stars behind the clouds
Reaching through your eyes
Starring into mine

----------------------------------------

Pirates together, a cardboard ship
we were sailing jagged portholes through alien
waters. Our bow sliced through grassy waves,
Drawing to a halt on foreign banks.
Under summer's glare we lunched
In oppressive jungle, perching in canopied
calmness...smothered in humid blue and green
You...I painted your lips scarlet as we gorged on
Nature's exotica, mouths ravaging the
Crimson flesh, staining skin with ruby trickles.
We grew taller as sunlight drained from the sky,
And now I'm standing alone in the winter night
And you're casually eclectic;
Sailing your unsteady ship through
A smoky haze of late
Nights and neon lights

----------------------------

I put you away...filed you in my memories
Packing you in bubble wrap
Placing you down deep in the storage closet
At the base of my heart
I realized that you weren't worth it
Waiting, watching by myself
Knowing that each laugh was shrapnel falling, piercing
The muscle that keeps beating, beating, beating
So I'm walking away from that door now,
Locking you in
You'll be waiting by yourself now in the cool darkness of the storage unit
Maybe I'll come back and visit you
When at night I'm cold
I'll travel down
I'll wrap myself in the warmth of your memory
Of your smile, the smell of your skin now tainted faintly
With the musty scent of mothballs and distilled time
Those eyes that stare into my soul
I'll miss you...for a moment
I'll visit your memory more than I should
Too much temptation to hear the specter of your voice
The phantom haunting the recesses of my mind
falling, into the memory of you
The one I always wanted you to be
Maybe not who you really are
Were, what's the difference anymore
I've folded you too near my heart
Far too long
The tears I've shed for you
No longer relevant
Disappearing into the abyss
What words I wish were spoken
Goodbye
Click, the door is locked, and I've lost the key

It turned out happy
because for all of the time we were together;

we never really met.
---------------------------------------------------

A melodious voice spoken from moist lips. He exposes more of himself than possibly planned. She replies with a flick of hair and the birth of a smile. A salacious stare with bewitching eyes...she takes him deeper. True flames...not flambéed, but enriched with true substance. Sifted touches. Her hair touched his face. It was long, deep chocolate, flowing over her head onto his face. It created a tunnel through which he could see only her. The tunnel of hair meant the world outside was beyond them both. As they both stared, eyes not parting despite the motion.
----------------------------------------------------

Words poured from my speakers
danced around the room
and alighted on my shoulders
across my breast
cinched at my waist
caressed my hips and thighs
and brushed against my shins
and with every rise and fall of your voice
those lyrics
breathed
squeezing me first here
then here…
then I …
wrapped up in your words
seduced, so thick and rich
it poured from the speakers like
melted chocolate
I was taken in
by how well your words fit me
moved with me
breathed with me
and draped about me
these words
pretty like silk
dependable and true like cotton
I wore proudly
and so taken was I
by the words
that I no longer heard the beats
and I only heard the music in your voice
and the rhythm in your words
the poetry
my every move was dictated by you
and I followed your voice
dancing, wrapped
measure after measure
legato sigh, staccato breath
they took me to places

your voice
from my speakers
left
me
breathless...