To Anyone on I-295 in Maine on Thursday Night – I’m SO Sorry and Hope You Weren’t Hurt

When I realized this happened, I was mortified. Mainly because I didn't even realize it happened until I saw the aftermath. And I didn't know if anyone was hurt by it.

But let me start from the beginning.

Cans for a Cure

Last Wednesday, October 12 through Friday, October 14, Cans for a Cure went down for the 20th year at the Maine Mall by the Gorham Road entrance to Jordan's Furniture. Long story short, the event involves the dropping off and picking up of empty cans and bottles to benefit Maine Cancer Foundation.

That Thursday morning, since we were double booked for pickups, I took my pickup truck to a home in Harpswell that had requested we drop by and pick up their donations.

Here's the thing about a can and bottle drive -- the donations are essentially just trash bags full of empties. Empties that haven't been cleaned out, but instead, sipped away until nothing else comes out and tossed into the donation bag, leaving a little drink residue in the cans.

What is created in, on, and around the bags is what I like to refer to as "garbage juice" -- or, in the case of Cans for a Cure -- "Cure juice." And basically, said "Cure juice" got all over my truck bed.

Maine Weather insanity

We know that this past Friday morning and afternoon, the weather ended up absolutely wild. Torrential storms, heavy winds, power outages, down trees -- you name it, it happened. But the real beginning to the storm was Thursday night, with the wind picking up heavier than earlier in the day and rain starting to fall.

And in my infinite wisdom, I decided to keep my tonneau cover for my truck bed folded up so the rain could wash out all the "Cure juice" from my truck bed. Genius move, except for the fact that because the wind was picking up so much, at some point, the tonneau cover unlatched, unfolded, and slammed down shut.

Something I didn't even realize happened until I parked my truck at home and went to check on the "Cure juice" factor and realized I was missing part of my tonneau cover.

And that's when I about had a heart attack, because when I left the Maine Mall and hopped on 295, it was all still intact and folded in place. Which means that at some point, I lost part of it while driving up 295.

In the darkness. And rain.

And all I could think of was if, whenever it flew off and wherever it went, it clipped someone along the way. Because the tonneau cover I had isn't light, so if it's flying somewhere in the air at highway speed, and Heaven forbid it connected with someone...

I don't even want to think about that.

I'd like to think that for the number of times I check my rearview mirror while driving, if something had happened and the cover had collided with a car behind me and caused an accident or some kind of incident, I would've seen commotion behind me.

Thankfully, I saw nothing. More thankfully, I saw no reports of any incidents over the last few days since it happened on Thursday night, so crisis averted.

But regardless, to anyone behind me on 295 Thursday night during some stretch -- I'm SO sorry and I'm SO glad you're okay.