Tires skidding, cars smashing, the sound of glass shattering. This was no ordinary Saturday morning.

When band rehearsal ended, I embarked on my long walk home. Each step made me realize how much I wanted a ride. I stared at each passing car, hoping that someone, anyone, would offer me a ride. A blue van passed; a beige Lincoln passed; a black 1981 Sting Ray passed, but no one stopped.

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, a white Rabbit driven by a relative stopped beside me. In the back seat was one of my younger cousins and her dog. In the front was her older brother and their mother. They asked me if I wanted a ride. I gratefully accepted and we began to drive away.

As I was telling them how happy I was to have a ride, I was interrupted by a terrible noise. SKIDDD! The car screeched to a heart-stopping halt. Some one had run a stop sign and almost collided with our car. As shaken-up as we were, we felt thankful that an accident had been avoided.

As we continued, my thoughts turned to the day ahead. It was a beautiful spring morning and the weather was promising. I would go to my friend's house and we would organize a neighborhood football game. Then we would go to my house for a quick swim in the pool. After swimming we would . . . BANG . . . SMASH!

Darkness. The silence was broken only by the sporadic screams of my cousin beside me. My eyes opened to the remains of a smashed back window. I had no idea what had happened. My brain told me to reach out to find my cousin, but I could hardly move. I lay there listening, waiting.

Finally a man opened my door and helped me out. He lead me to a patch of grass where I sat down, bewildered. He asked me where I lived. I looked around. I lived just around the corner. I had almost made it home.

By this time a crowd had gathered. I looked around; my mother was at my side. I sat on the grass, crying uncontrollably. Then the paramedics hoisted me onto a stretcher and wheeled me toward an ambulance. This was not going to be the Saturday afternoon I had planned.

Do not ruin someone else's Saturday. Do not ruin someone else's life. Do not run a stop sign. n