I left to pick up my cat about 7 pm. It was dark when I got there and started to rain by the time I left to drive home. I have been living in my house on Mangos Drive for 18 years. I have made the trip to and from the Bishop Ranch Vet Center dozens of times. I even used to work across the street from Bishop Drive on Anabel Lane for seven years.
I picked up the cat and drove back to Norris Canyon Road. I turned right at the light to drive to Alcosta Blvd. I was reluctant to go home on Alcosta Blvd. because that's where my accident happened three years ago, when I was crossing the intersection of Alcosta and Bollinger. That did not turn out to be a problem.
But after I passed the light on Bollinger, the darkness seemed to close in on me. I drove past Montevideo, where I should have turned to connect with Mangos. That's when I became completely confused. I lost all sense of depth perception and couldn't figure out where I was or how to get back home.
I was driving my relatively new pickup truck which I had not driven much after dark. I thought I had the lights on, but I couldn't see anything in front of me. I was driving very slowly so I wouldn't miss where I should turn. At one point I was at Walt Disney School, which is on Pine Valley right down the street from Mangos, but for some reason I thought it was North instead of South of my house.
I kept driving on familiar street names, but couldn't find the right direction. I finally stopped to ask a woman in a small white car if she would help me get back to Montevideo Drive. She offered to help, and I appreciated it very much. But after I got back in my truck, I saw police lights flashing behind me.
The Officer got out and came over, but the women in the white car waited. I wish I knew her name to thank her. I thought the Officer would give me a ticket and a lecture on my erratic driving, but he offered to lead me home. The nice lady then drove away.
I followed the Officer's car with his flashing lights on to be easy to see and made it back to my garage. He let me bring the cat into the house and then wrote a ticket and a Notice to the DMV for a new driving test.
The Officer said I was driving without my lights on. That's probably why everything was so dark, but I thought I had my lights on. I was also driving too slowly and weaving around. That was because I was trying to see the street signs to see where I was.
This whole experience was a nightmare. Now I'm prohibited from driving after dark, but I don't want to drive after dark ever again. Daylight Savings starts on March 13th so it will stay light longer, but this experience makes me want to move into a retirement community this year if possible. I will check out some of the local ones in San Ramon, Walnut Creek, and Rossmoor. My sister's chorus is performing a concert in Rossmoor in March.
I also plan to apply to Piper Shores, my mother's place in Scarborough, ME. It is what is called Lifecare – Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Nursing Care. It is so popular that there's a waiting list of two or three years to get an apartment in the Independent Living building.
Mother likes to say she has all of her marbles. Last night I felt like some of my marbles had fallen out. I made an appointment with my Doctor on Friday to see what I could do about this. I'm not sure there is much that can be done other than moving into a place where I won't need to drive anywhere.
