My Sister Lori (Part 4 of 6)

The drives we went on were great. If Dad was out of town, he’d leave the car home. Yes, I could have taken the big and spacious van, but the car was smaller, easier to drive, and more quiet. I could strap Lori into the seat next to me and actually see her and talk with her as we drove around. Lori loved to ride in the car. The gentle vibrations were very soothing to her. She rarely fell asleep, but even as a newborn, she could tell this was an event. We mostly just drove around town. And I would talk with her as we rode. She was too small to see out the window, so I would describe everything to her as we drove by.
Our drives could have proved deadly, though. Back in 1978, big commercial trucks, like dump trucks had blinker lights that could be stuck on. They would always blink, like they were signaling to turn left or right when they really weren’t. The instructors had warned us about this in Drivers Ed, but there was really nothing we could do about it except always be on guard. This happened to Lori and I on one of our drives in the summer of 1978 at the intersection of Redwood Road and 5400 South. Nowadays there are left-turn lanes in all four directions of that intersection, but back then it was a lot less busy. Each corner was nothing but fields except the north-west corner which had a store called Grand Central. Lori and I were going south on Redwood Road and then attempting to make a left turn, onto the eastbound lane of 5400 South. I saw a large dump truck coming the other direction. The truck had its blinker on and looked like it was slowing down to make a left turn onto the westbound lane of 5400 South. I pulled into the intersection and all appeared clear for me to make the left-hand turn. I began to do so and then I saw that the truck was continuing on into the intersection and going straight. Heading right toward us! I slammed on the accelerator pedal, but our car was kind of gutless in situations like this so it hesitated for a split second. My whole life passed before my eyes and I’m sure Lori, if she had known what was happening, that her short life would have passed before her eyes as well. Fortunately, the engine kicked in and whisked us away to safety. Just as the truck barreled on past.