Beta Booth Trip Gone Wrong!!

So, on Thursday evening, my father and I are in the car, driving to the Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake Ozark, Missouri for a Social Studies teacher's conference. No, neither of us teach social studies-- we, along with Mr. Doyel (our state sponsor), were going to work a Beta Informational booth Friday and Saturday in an effort to reach new schools and start more Beta Clubs!

I was pretty excited about it; I love talking about Beta and I'm always eager to help grow Missouri Beta. The convention went well, we had a TV set up playing DVDs of past conventions, a laptop set up with our new website, http://www.mobeta.org/, and plenty of promotional materials like pencils, fliers and booklets. Things were going well, a lot of the teachers seemed interested and our booth was busy in between their sessions. It was freezing outside, and the weather man was calling for a bit of snow the next day.

Just like the man said, Saturday morning around eight, snow started falling. It started of really light, and it was actually really pretty! Things were slowing down, so we decided to pack up a little bit early and start the drive home an hour ahead of schedule. At 10:30, dad and I pack up the car, say goodbye to Mr. Doyel, and we're on our way.

At 10:45, we're on the side of the road; you see, while we were loading our vehicle, the snow picked up considerably! About two miles from the Lodge, my dad rounds a corner and is coming down a hill when we see traffic stopped about 100 feet in front of us. Dad hits the brakes, but the ABS locks up immediately, and we can see what's coming. We slide 70 feet, hit the vehicle in front of us, and slide into a low brick wall near the entrance to a condominium at the exact same speed we were at the top of the hill, about 35 mph. (I can't imagine hitting another car at 60!)

I was on the phone with my mom when it happened, ironically enough, and she thought for a minute that dad and I were playing an elaborate trick on her. We explained the situation, and dad and I started in making the appropriate phone calls to the police and AAA.

I've gotta give my dad some props, though; he might've hit a car and run into a brick wall, but he pulled off some fancy driving to get it done. He had three options: 1) T-bone the Honda in the turning lane, 2) Go right, miss the car in front of us, but go off the road and down a hill about 200 feet into the woods, or 3) Hit the car and the wall. It all happened pretty fast, but he managed to pull it off and at least we didn't flip our vehicle or hit someone in the driver's side.

I also want to let you all know what kind of state sponsor you have; Mr. Doyel was two cars in front of us, and he pulled over and stayed with us until everything was sorted out. He then drove us to a hotel where we stayed the night, since all the roads in and out of town were closed. Thank you Mr. Doyel!

Lake Ozark and Osage Beach ended up getting about eight or nine inches of snow last night; I watched it pile up while I sat in my hotel room, catching up on some Spanish IV. My uncle came and picked us up this morning; it was like Christmas came early-- I was going home! haha So, that said, be sure that you drive safe and buckle up. Don't speed, especially in bad weather!

Convention is literally just around the corner! I hope everyone is getting ready and getting excited! I can't wait!

Samantha Green