I’ve always been a sucker for a chivalrous gentleman. But somewhere along the way, I learned there’s a difference between offering to rescue someone and deciding they aren’t allowed to rescue themselves. It took meeting my husband to finally understand why one felt like chivalry—and the other never did.

In April 2005, I was driving sleepy when I ran a red light, leading to an accident with a City Dump Truck. This is that story.