Dear Driver of the Dark Pickup Truck...

...let me begin by apologizing for not knowing your gender, age or the exact model and color of your vehicle. I'm generally much better about being specific when I address someone.

It happened so quickly, it was dark outside, and I just didn't have time to notice all the details.

At the time I was too busy contemplating (albeit very quickly) that you were going to kill my entire family.

We were on our way to our adopted son's birthday/bon voyage party- he's taken a job overseas and is leaving tomorrow for at least 6 months.

My 11 year old boy was sitting in the back seat, dressed in a carefully chosen dressy outfit- since he attends neither school nor church his wardrobe contains nothing but jeans, t-shirts and flip flops. This was his first schmancy event and he was dressed to the nines- dress pants, dress shirt, tie AND fedora. The kid was absolutely stunning.

My husband- my handsome beloved husband who has endured so much these last years up to and including almost dying about a year ago and the brave awful road back to health- the man who has one eye, is lacking muscles from having them "harvested" from different parts of his body and is still very much in recovery as opposed to fully recovered- he was driving.

I don't know your story.

Perhaps you were in some sort of emergency-mode and really couldn't wait for that left turn light that turned red well before you entered the intersection. I know it wasn't just lack of attention, because you sped up by a good bit as you were turning to try to beat the light.

You willfully entered an intersection on a red left turn signal and turned left- while speeding.

We weren't even the first car to go on green, so I can't even say we jumped the light...or you missed it by THAT much.

I'm also pretty sure you saw us- our car isn't black, we had our lights on and it's not tiny. Yet you never veered, never slowed. I'll forever see in my mind's eye your truck bearing down on us- straight on a literal collision course to hit us broadside.

What you did wasn't merely stupid. Or thoughtless. Or rude. You could have killed a family of 3. MY family of 3.

I know for a fact that if I had been driving I never would've reacted in time. I'dve not reacted in time and you would've hit us and we'd be...dead. Don't lose any sleep over it though, with the size of your truck, I'm sure you would've been fine.

Ward had to veer at lightning speed and wide- wide enough to allow you to pass, but not so wide as to hit the telephone pole that was in our path on that trajectory.

And he did. My husband, Alec's daddy, reacted and acted and we are safe. Because that's what he does- no matter what, no matter his limitations or pain, he protects his family. And he is our hero on so many levels.

I suspect you are young, probably male, and still immortal as most young people think they are.

I hope you were as shaken as we were by what you did.

I hope you didn't mutter "Get outta the way, asshole", or laugh at our frightened faces in your headlights, or worst of all, that you didn't even register that we were there, in your way, with our lives.

Sadly, I have no trace of hope that you'll read this and it doesn't matter because even if you did you'd brush it off dismissively and never give it another thought.

I'm just a naggy ol' bitch who doesn't want you to have fun, and you have things to do and people to see, and most likely you don't even remember today, less than 24 hours later, that if my ol' man husband at the wheel of the blue Mazda Tribute hadn't reacted the way he did at the corner of Paluxy and the Loop about 7pm last night

you were going to kill my entire family.