Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Can You Spare a Dime?



The saying that 'life can change on a dime' is familiar to many of us.  I searched the Internet to see where this expression came from.  A dime is thin.  A dime is not much money.  A dime is the smallest in size of American coins.  What does this expression mean?  Does anyone know the origin?


My life almost changed on a dime a few days ago.  After a casual running of errands and some successful plant purchases which I carefully wedged into the trunk of the car to keep them upright, I was heading down the county road toward the bridge that provides access to my side of the river.  Traffic was steady but not crowded with everyone doing 45 and keeping the correct distance.


A nasty storm was building on the distant horizon so people were probably a little eager to get to their destination.


I was following a construction truck full of equipment with three large aluminum ladders tied to the top bars above the truck bed.


Suddenly and without warning the middle ladder flew into the air and tumbled toward my car.  I hit the brakes (not too hard but steady) and pulled to the right side of the road toward the easement worrying about the cars behind me not being able to slow down and hitting my rear.  The ladder hit the pavement on one leg and did a pirouette before falling to the ground.  It then started sliding toward my front tires following me to the right even as I swerved.  Luck was on my side as the ladder came to rest just beside my car as I continued to move by it and came to a stop several yards in front of the now stationary aluminum missile which I saw in my rear view mirror.  It lay at an angle just inside the lane.  


I quickly looked in my rear view and side mirrors.  All of the cars behind me slowed suddenly and began to creep by.  The truck driver in front pulled to the side of the road and then ran back to see me.  He was a big black fellow with a heavy Southern accent.  He was so excited that I had trouble understanding him at first.  He was far more excited than I, clearly worried he might have seriously hurt me.


I reassured him that I was OK as he repeatedly apologized for not tying off the ladder more securely.  


Oddly enough I was not frightened or even concerned, just relieved that it had all happened without great incident and it wasn't until I got home that I remembered my plants were still in the trunk.  I hurried to open the trunk and was amazed to see they had remained tucked upright belying the near accident.


Yes, indeed, life can change on a dime.

20 comments:

  1. Yikes! What a rush! You have great reflex skills to have avoided that. We just never know, do we? Thank God it all turned out okay. And your plants, too! I hope that guy is more careful from now on.

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  2. You are one lucky lady. Yes, much could have changed - in your life - if it had not turned out this way.

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  3. Thank God you had your wits about you and weren't on a cell phone or distracted! I have often wondered how often ladders like that break free and become missiles. You were very lucky!!

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  4. So wonderful your reactions were to do exactly the right thing and you are okay. Unsecured loads are a plague. The world always looks amazingly more precious to me after something like that.

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  5. That was a close call, scary in hindsight because you have time to think about the consequences. Whew.

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  6. Yikes was my first word in my mind too! That is so scary! I get so confused (not that it is hard for me) as to which blog of yours I am reading.....but, I love them all....

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  7. My heart was racing as I read your post today!
    Yes, we did have similar incidents...but, yours sounded much more frightening.
    I am thankful that you, and the plants, survived intact!
    xoxo

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  8. Well done for your driving and avoidance skills. So pleased you are OK if a bit shaken up.

    We have a saying in the UK that life can change on the flip of a coin. Could that be something to do with your own saying. (Heads versus tails)

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  9. Lucky Lady;
    But only partly, because remaining calm and clear-headed had a lot to do with your luck.

    I let you drive me any day.

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  10. Oh where you the lucky one. I am glad it turned out like it did for you. Even no damage done to your car! Super!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  11. Your life is a beach too? Or a close call, I see. I don't know the origin of the saying but I bet it came about when a dime was worth something, like a coin in a rich person's penny loafer ...or a phone call.

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  12. Wow....so glad you are ok after that. Yup, that was a life changing moment, and you were on the right side of the dime. What did your other half say when you told him?

    Hugs and peace.

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  13. How frightening. Amazing that you stayed so calm. I'm very glad you ended up safe and unharmed.

    I'm thinking of a spinning dime and wondering if that's what the saying refers to.
    So of course, I had to Google it. This is what I came up with:

    "The expression "can turn on a dime" means "has a very tight turning radius". A dime is a very small American coin, 17.91 mm diameter. In this expression, it illustrates just how small the turning radius is. (A tight or small turning radius is an advantage in handling a car.)
    By extension, anything that can "turn on a dime" can make a radical change in direction very quickly."
    Glad your plants made it home unscathed too :)

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  14. well executed escape and well described.
    i'm a friend of jim's

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  15. Oh My! What a scary fact... I am so glad you are ok after that.
    I agree with you, life can change on a dime.

    PS: I like so much your new template and new header photo too.

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  16. ...and I forgot to mention how much I like the picture in your banner. :)

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  17. That was wonderfully written, full of suspense, even though we know from the beginning that you are okay. And a good thing, too.

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  18. Blessed You...
    Happy Fathers Day to fathers in your life.

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  19. Thank goodness you still have a good head on your shoulders. What an adrenaline rush. I'm glad to hear you are OK and that there was no damage done to your car.


    re: your previous post. I think we all have that thought process every now and then. I see these images in mountains and trees too.

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  20. Clearly you have more pocket change than ten cents. I'm so glad nothing serious came of it. Good for you for keeping your cool and maneuvered out of it.

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.