The recent death of Tom Railsback, former Republican
Congressman from Illinois, reminded me of the time I met him. He was an
attorney for an insurance company that was suing my father and me (actually our
insurance company) because of an accident I had in June 1964, when I was 16
years old. Tom went on to run for the
House of Representatives, and was one the senior members of the House Judiciary
Committee during the impeachment inquiry against President Nixon. The strain of
that inquiry forever changed his voice as he was barely able to speak when he
voted for impeachment, which he courageously did against many in his party.
So what was my small mistake that changed my life? Driving
with one hand while I kept the other around a girl.
I was interested in a sophomore girl, K., and had spent a
late night with her after the prom that spring. That late night listening to
records, violated curfew. My Dad’s only words were “Leave your driver’s license
on the kitchen table”. It cost me my driver’s license and grounding for two
weeks.
The last few weeks of the school year, I rode home with my
older brother who had a car. We often stopped for a soda at the local drug
store, where lots of town girls hung out after school. One of them was a girl,
D, I thought was sexy. She started to tell her friends she was interested in
me. Not wishing to have a conflict, K., said I should ask D. out. After some trepidation,
I asked D. out. I don’t know why, but heck I was 16, and horny.
It was a Friday after school was out, and my Dad decided I had earned back my privileges,
so he gave our family car for my date. After driving around through town most
of the night and stopping by for a malt, I started driving towards D.’s home. I
was hoping she would agree to go “parking” in the country. This was a euphemism
for making out.
As I reached her street, I decided to drive past trying to figure
out how to pop the question. I knew I had the option of taking another street
to take her home if I chickened out. I was driving with one hand and had my arm
around her as she sat close to me. As I prepared to turn right on to the
highway, I couldn’t turn very well because my arm was around her. I slowly
turned the wheel with one hand and very slowly pulled out on to the highway. I
was traveling very slowly when suddenly I was hit in the rear by a car which
was traveling fast. We were pushed into the ditch but I was not hurt and thought
was D not either. Later she said she had whiplash and wore a brace for a week.
The police arrived, but decided not to issue tickets. I
think they thought we both had some responsibility for the accident. My car was badly damaged and had to be towed in. The police brought me
home. It was the first of three times that the police brought me home, but those
are other stories.
The person who hit me was a traveling salesman who drove a
very expensive new station wagon with air conditioning. His insurance company
later sued for the cost of the repairs. My Dad’s insurance company
counter-sued. It took a year and a half, but I ended up in court for the civil
suit before a jury. The other insurance company wanted a jury trial. I figured
they thought an accident involving a 16 year old would be an easy win.
The trial was on December 9, 1965 which was my
18th birthday. I had to return from college to be in court. I had to explain why I hadn’t turned down her street. I said I was taking another way to her house. I didn’t mention the hopeful “parking”.The
attorney asking questions for his insurance company was Tom Railsback, who would later run for
the US Congress.
Fortunately the judge’s instructions to the jury helped
them understand that a “Not Guilty” verdict for both parties would result in
each insurance company fixing their clients’ car, which was what should have happened
without a trial. Tom told my father and I that he agreed that was the right
decision.
Back to June 1964 and how the small mistake changed my
life.
School was out. Our car was totaled and our insurance company didn't offer enough to replace it. Without a family car, my brother, Ron,
became my only way to town. When he wasn’t working, one of the things he did
with his friend, Bob, was drive by the swimming pool and give rides to the
girls walking home. Bob had left for the Coast Guard Academy, so Ron took me on
one of his swimming pool drive-bys.
We stopped and picked up three girls who were walking home.
One of the three was Connie. This past August we celebrated our 50th
wedding anniversary. One small mistake can change your life for the better.
