Transitions: A Total Loss...

Life Rewind

Surprise! The year was 2002 around mid-summer or early fall. I was at the end of my work shift when my husband called stating he had something to show me. So for the sake of curiosity, I had to check out whatever was outside the Ft. McNair gates. There it was...the crimson red four door 1999 Honda CRV. Surprised yes, but this was not the first time being surprised by a vehicle purchase! What made this a special surprise was that crimson red was to be our first family car. We were expecting our first light, and the two door car I was driving back then was not going to cut it!

Do you remember your first car? Mine was a 1988 red manual shift Toyota Tercel that I paid about $900 dollars. It had a tricked out ignition, in which I could take my keys out and the car would still run! Yeah I had fun with that car, but I don't recommend driving down Route 1 with your keys hanging outside your car door! I had heat, but no air conditioning! Go figure, but it was my first all cash car purchase. The hubby had the air conditioning, but no heat in his first BMW manual shift car! Again go figure!

I reminiscence about our first two cars, because they were of value to us individually. We had our cars before we met. Both cars unfortunately had to be donated, because they were passed their prime. But this isn't about those first two cars, it's about crimson red our first family car together. This is about a "Hit and Run," which lead to a "Total Loss." The timeline goes a little something like this:

It's  May 31, 2017, and I have just dropped the girls off at school. Just after 9:00 am I receive a call from my husband, and he is very upset. He has walked to crimson red, which is parked right in front of the house. It's the first car parked in the designated residential street parking zone, and parked behind it is a neighbor's taxi. After putting his work bag and lunch bag in the trunk, my husband looks down at the back driver's side bumper of the CRV. Crimson red had been hit, and the back wheel and axle have been bent. Our neighbor's side view mirror had been swiped too. The police came to check out the damage, take pictures, and hand my husband the card with the report number. Sound familiar?

The back left side damaged.
© May 2017

The car could not be driven. A claim was filed with our insurance company the same day. Because we didn't have Collision coverage (crimson red was an older vehicle), we were stuck with paying the deductible. The claim was filed under the Uninsured Motorist Property Damage portion of our insurance coverage. Crimson red would be parked for the next two months. This was so disappointing, for we needed both vehicles for our family. We still had school, work, after school activities, appointments, and weekend activities that some times involved two separate vehicles. What made the situation worse was just a few weeks earlier there was the shattering of the Pilot's window (the other family car). Like in my recent post, I was beginning to wonder if this was a sign.

Now Press Forward

Crimson Red on it's way to the shop.
© July 2017

 This was not exactly the scene I had wanted to see. Crimson red   was being hauled off to the collision auto body shop that our   insurance company deals with. Had we known we didn't need to   pay the deductible up front, we would have had crimson red hauled away two months before. It's now July, and we had managed the logistics of using one vehicle. Once we understood the process of getting the car evaluated by the shop, all we could do was wait. Waiting was not easy, for your mind begins to wonder. I began wondering on the day the car was hauled away if it would be the last day seeing crimson red. It turns out it was the last day the car would be parked in the neighborhood. 

Getting the call and reading the email from our insurance company was devastating. Crimson red was deemed a "total loss." It would cost more to fix than the car was worth. We had to make arrangements with the shop to clean out the car and remove the tags. It didn't hit me until the day we drove to the shop. As we began sorting items we were taking or throwing away, the tears started to flow. Damn. I didn't want to be cleaning out this vehicle. We should have been coming to pick up crimson red with its newly fixed bumper, wheel, and axle. 

Crimson red was paid off years ago (just like the Pilot). We had the title. At that point, I was in mourning. My husband did his best to console me. I cried, because this was the first car we brought our first light home in. I was reminiscing about the old times. Crimson red was my vehicle until we bought the Pilot when we were expecting our second light. Then crimson red became my husband's ride. Crimson red had the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. tags on the back (hence the vehicle's name).

 A year has past, and we have managed without crimson red. Although another car would be nice, paying another car note isn't. We never found out who did the hit and run. Coward. This person didn't care. The damage was done in the wee hours of the morning in the cover of darkness. We would have rather gotten the car fixed instead of the check. But I must thank God that my husband was not in the car at the time. If you have read my last post, then you know about the fear I had for my family. The G-unit. We are just that...a family unit. Shattered windows and a total loss in a year can rattle your faith. We are still here pressing forward, still believing, and still keeping the Faith.  

Kaisha

Blog post written by Kaisha Goring
Copyright © August 9, 2018
Photos courtesy of Kaisha Goring
All Rights Reserved.

Transitions: Shattered Windows...

Shattered glass from

inside the Pilot.

© April 2017

 The year 2017 brought joy, accomplishments, then suddenly hit our lives with shattered windows and total losses. The year 2017 turned out to be the year of natural and personal storms.


Life Rewind

Back passenger window.
© April 2017

Shattered. It's how you feel when things or events are out of your control. Then the fear starts to set in, because you can't control the unknown. So this life rewind starts with a beautiful Sunday spring day. My family and I had taken advantage of the spring weather by taking a drive around the city. After our events around the city, it was time to head home to prepare dinner and get ready for the new week. In my last posting, I introduced an infamous stretch of road called the Suitland Parkway. This four lane roadway (two lanes in each direction) was the choice route to get home this particular day. 

Then the unexpected happened as soon as we went past the merge into 
traffic lane. Shattered. The right back passenger window where my teen 
was sitting had shattered. What the _____ just happened? You can fill in 
the blank. Any and every curse word came to mind, but I had to remain calm for the sake of the children. We were half a mile from our exit off 
the parkway, and thank goodness my husband was driving. You can 
imagine the look of fear on my girls faces, especially the youngest who 
was ten at the time.

Once we pulled into our back driveway, my teen carefully maneuvered
herself out of the car. She was okay, but had a couple of scratches on her

Living room window.
© October 2017

leg. After getting in the house, the next step was calling the police. I began taking photos for documentation, and called our insurance company. There was so much glass from this window. The police arrived, asked questions, took pictures, and handed us the card with the report number. Conclusion. The shattered glass was probably from some idiot shooting a b b gun. My daughter thought for a split second that she had seen someone atop the hillside, but the event happened so fast. Unfortunately, we will never know for sure. 

Shattered again. For a moment, I was beginning to feel like we should be 
paying attention to the signs. I just don't know what the signs were. It 
would be about five months later when the shattering of a window occurred again. Right below this window is the "couch of rest." There is something magical about this couch, for you are bound to fall asleep on it when sitting for a period of time. So when my youngest daughter wanted to sleep on the couch one night, my husband and I didn't have an issue with it. That night would be the last night she would sleep on this couch below the window. A call to the police, they arrive, ask questions, take pictures, and hand us the card with the report number. This would be a repeat of what happened a few months earlier. Again we will never know what happened for sure.


Now Press Forward

"May God and the Angels watch over you as you sleep through the night." -Kaisha

This is how we start off our prayers when I'm tucking in my youngest to bed at night. It would be these fourteen words and Faith that helped my daughter that particular night. The next morning my husband had come downstairs to wake up our daughter to start the school and work day. All I can say is that it was a miracle our daughter wasn't physically hurt by the shattered pieces of glass on the couch  where she had slept. It was only God and the Angels protecting her, for she literally slept through the night. Praise God!

Although she was not physically hurt, it was a difficult day at school for our daughter. Her teacher would tell me it was an emotional day, for our daughter had recalled and shared the event. Internally I cried while hugging my daughter after that school day. I would be paralyzed by fear. I kept questioning why these events happened. Was this a sign that we should be living elsewhere?This is one of the personal storms that was happening in 2017. There would be another storm event that happened in between those fives months, which lead to a total loss. I will be writing about that event in another transition post.

The fear for my family's safety has since kept me up at night from time to time throughout 2017 and this year. Any parent would have this feeling, especially when your children are involved. If we could only rewind back to that Sunday drive home, for maybe we could have taking the other route home. Maybe this is why my teenager occasionally asks us to take the other route home (we do when we don't want to sit in traffic), but I've never asked her. Even though the windows are fixed, it hasn't been easy transitioning from fear to faith. It took about a day for the car window to be fixed thanks to Safelite Repair. It would take a couple of months for the living room window replacement, because of the process of replacing home windows. You can replace windows, but you can't replace your loved ones. With that said, I am pressing forward by keeping my Faith in God, for he hasn't forsaken me. The power of prayer works. I have extended the prayer to include keeping the neighbors around us safe as well, and I have always included immediate, extended family, and friends near and far.

This personal storm doesn't compare to the natural storms of hurricanes that were happening during this time last year. I found myself praying even more for my family members and friends who were in the path of the storms. I thank God for enabling a family member to stay with us for an extended time beyond what was to be a two week visit. I thank God that there wasn't damage to the family home. It's the power of prayer and having faith that lets you know everything is going to be all right. 

Peace, Blessings, and Love

Kaisha

Blog post written by Kaisha S. Goring
Photos courtesy of Kaisha S. Goring
© August 8, 2018
All Rights Reserved.

Transitions: A Long Walk Outside The Hood

Life Rewind

Warrior Walkers!
©July 2017

My avid walker husband has managed to turn his used to be avid runner
wife into a weekend warrior walker! It doesn't matter when or where, for the hubby is bound to go walking. Throughout the years, I have accompanied my husband on long walks through and around our neighborhoods, but I have never really paid attention to the surroundings. I am used to the daily routine of hopping in the car and going about our daily business of school and work. One day I see an abandoned building on the corner lot of despair. Then the next month there's a fence around it with signs of renovations about to begin. There are a lot of transitions happening inside and outside of our neighborhood. It's one thing to see the changes from inside the car, but seeing the changes up close on foot is another eyeopening experience.

So when my husband asked me to take a walk with him outside of our current neighborhood last summer, I said okay. What I thought was just an ordinary walk to get fit and stay healthy, turned into a walk of discovery about the city we call home. We have been Washington, DC. residents for the past 15 and half years. For twelve years we lived in the NE quadrant section of the city by the infamous R.F.K Memorial Stadium where Washington's football, baseball, and soccer teams have played. Unfortunately, the stadium is a shell of itself. However, there are still events taking place there from time to time. It also happens to have an expansive parking lot, which is a great spot to teach a teen how to drive!

R.F.K Memorial Stadium Event
© September 2016

 What I liked most about the area when we lived in the neighborhood was the walking and running path. It is located on the outskirts of the stadium. There is also a playground located along the path, but closer to the residential homes. We would often take the kids down to the playground, roller skate, and taught them to ride bikes. The path around the stadium was also where my husband and I would often walk. Also I would attempt to channel my inner Flo Jo and run (not really, for my knees say otherwise!).

Trail next to Suitland Pkwy
© June 2018

For the past three and half years we have lived in the SE quadrant of the city. I guess the landmark I can give would be the infamous Suitland Parkway located just off the 295 highway, and one of the roadways to Prince Georges County Maryland (oh the morning and afternoon traffic headaches!). Another landmark that folks in the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) would know is the historic Barry Farms. It is a Southeast neighborhood located east of the Anacostia River, and is about to undergo redevelopment and revitalization by the DC Housing Authority (stay tuned). Just like our former Northeast neighborhood, our Southeast neighborhood and surroundings are going through some transformations. It has been within this past year of taking walks with my husband that I have begun to appreciate the changes. I have begun to document our walks by taking photos of the sites we have passed while stopping to read some of the history markers that are located in various locations.

Now Press Forward

Now pressing forward to let us say two weeks ago, my husband and I managed to walk three days out of the fourth of July week (yes we walked on the 4th!). It was exhausting, but I pushed myself enough to tackle some hills. I had to channel my inner self from my cross country days in high school. Our walk normally starts with us walking down hill (Stanton Road) towards Suitland Parkway, crossing the parkway, and then walking through the neighborhood on the other side of Stanton Road. We then would walk through the streets of historic Anacostia to get to the Fredrick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

View of the Douglass Bridge
coming from Suitland Pkwy
© June 2018

Now family and friends who know me may remember that I had a phobia of driving or riding in a vehicle across bridges. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island to Brooklyn in New York is to blame. Back in the day we took family trips to Brooklyn to visit extended family, and the sight of the bridge literally was terrifying as a kid. Although the suspension bridge still freaks me out as an adult, I now appreciate its industrial beauty! My phobia may have subsided throughout the years, but walking across the Douglass Bridge tends to bring back the fear of falling into the river below. The bridge shakes when driven across, and walking across is no better. The Douglass bridge is a swing bridge that carries South Capitol Street across the Anacostia River, and one of a few bridges that connects Southeast to the rest of the city. Southeast is only accessible via a bridge. I have managed to channel my inner calm of silence when crossing by foot, which means my husband can't talk to me until we are completely across the bridge! Once we walk over the swing section of the bridge, I am in my "Thank you Jesus" mode! Check me out!

I can do this!
© June 2018

                  

               I made it across!
          © June 2018

Douglass Bridge from
South Capitol Street
© July 2018

A long walk outside the hood means just that. On average, my husband and I walk approximately six miles round trip. Our long walks tend to last about two and half to three hours, because we tend to stop to take in the view. To be frankly honest, our long walks give us that much needed couple time away from our offspring! Shh...don't tell the kids! We have found walking outside of our neighborhood is very intriguing with an insight to DC history. At times we have accidentally stumbled upon unknown sites. One little unknown site we discovered on July 7th was the Field House, which was hosting a viewing of the World Cup. It's like an outside bar area located just in back (depending on which street you are on) of the new DC United Soccer Stadium. The stadium had it's grand opening last weekend (July 14th). When we had discovered the Field House, the event guide at the gate stated the site had only been open for about a month. Residents from the neighborhood (Southwest quadrant of the city), military personnel from nearby Ft. Lesley J. McNair Army Post (I used to work on the post!), and other folks heard about it through word of mouth. 

Inside the Field House
located outside Audi Field.
© July 2018

 The Field House
perimeter fence with Ft. McNair
in the background. © July 2018

I am sure the Field House was packed during the World Cup final. Shout out to France for winning the World Cup! I liked how the countries that had played in the World Cup Series were represented by their flags posted along the perimeter fence.  The Field House is free to get in with ID check, and very family and pet friendly. At the time of our visit, there was just one LED video screen, bars to buy beer and soft drinks, and two food trucks (more to come).  There was also a game area for the kids to play. The field and soccer stadium is located directly across from the Nationals Park (baseball stadium), which makes it one of the prime locations to hangout for social gatherings and sporting events. This Southwest area is known as Buzzard Point. The     hubby and I plan to bring the kids by the Field House soon. They were curious as to why we had stamps on our hands when we got back to the house! For more information on the Field House, check out the website www.fieldhousedc.com. 

I hope to document more sites from our long walks, for this experience has given me a reason to keep writing. I hope to share a little more of the many transitions that are taking place throughout the city for which I live. I have enjoyed seeing and experiencing the Nation's Capital outside my hood on foot. I've seen a lot of changes thus far, and there is more to come. Stay tuned.

Kaisha


Photos courtesy of Kaisha S. Goring
Blog post copyright © July 23, 2018
All Rights Reserved.