So the process is moving forward. My car was towed away Friday after sliding into a rocky ravine.

The insurance adjuster is coming to look at it today, but the estimate of damage is close to $10,000. There is almost no part of the car that wasn’t scratched or damaged, it took two big two trucks several hours to pull the car out of the ravine (and over big boulders) and onto a tow truck.

The insurance company allows me to rent a car at their expense for up to 30 days with a limit of $1,500. I was not injured in any way.

I swerved to avoid a van that veered suddenly into my lane, and in so doing, I went off the road and onto some slick ice and snow. I slid down an icy hill, and then the car just slid down and into the ravine, rolling over almost completely at first, then falling back to a vertical position.

This all happened in agonizingly slow motion, as in a dream, I felt helpless and tried to call Maria to say goodbye, just in case.

I couldn’t open the door and it felt to me as if the car was going to roll over on me. I hung there for a while, I don’t know how long.

Three passers-by – all men – pulled over, rushed down to the car, opened the door, and pulled me up and out. They wanted to call an ambulance, but I wasn’t hurt, somewhat miraculously. The auto body shop said it will be at least a month before the car is repaired and ready for me to pick up.

A courteous and helpful State Trooper pulled up and directed traffic. He asked me two or three times if I was drinking, then told me it was protocol, he knew I wasn’t drunk or impaired.

The trooper and the tow operators from AAA said it was one of the most difficult car extractions they had ever encountered. From the damage on the car, I’d agree. They were great, and they did a great job.

The experience reminded me that people are good, given the chance. It also reminded me that what happens in a come-to-Jesus moment like this is that no one was hurt, no lives were lost.

I am insured, will have a rental car by Monday, and grateful.

I went down to the auto body shop this morning, I went over the damage estimate and am eager to get my car back. It is the perfect car for me, a quiet hybrid that gets 41 miles to the gallon.

The process has its own soulless efficiency, mostly done by computers. But it does seem to work. If you live in upstate New York in the winter, the odds are good you will slip and slide at some point during icy January and February.

It could have been so much worse.