On Halloween night, in New York City's upper west side about five years ago, I was visiting an injured friend. His foot was burned, and he was unable to walk. He was getting hungry, so I went out to the local fast food place to grab him a bite.

Being Halloween night, I was concerned about local thugs looking for trouble. Unfortunately, Halloween in New York City was the day where thugs like to go crazy, throwing eggs and beating up people for no reason. Thugs have even murdered innocent people for no apparent reason other than it being Halloween. All this negative history of Halloween was going through my mind, increasing my anxiety. I walked up Broadway about 4 blocks before reaching the fast food place.

Well, I had picked up the food without incident, but I was still on my guard, ready for the worst to happen at any moment. I approached the one-way street on Broadway I passed earlier, looking in the proper direction for traffic. Seeing none, I crossed, remembering Halloween incidents from my past. Suddenly, I was staring at the asphalt, which must have been about five inches from my face...

I was on the ground, on my chest, still clutching the bag of fast food. Someone ran up to me from behind and pushed me to the ground, as the sensation I now felt was identical to what I felt when I was pushed to the ground in the past. I pictured a big thug surrounded by his entourage standing behind me, waiting for me to get up. Waiting to beat me up so they could enjoy their Halloween. I would probably have to fight for my life. I slowly turned my head while twisting my body to get a good look at my attacker. What I saw next, is something I never would have expected...

There was no one behind me. No attacker, no group of thugs, nobody. I was in total shock, because I could hardly believe what I was seeing. What I saw was the back of a huge tow truck. I was hit by a friggin' tow truck! A tow truck that happened to be driving in reverse the wrong way on a one way street. Nice driving, violating traffic laws and all. I got up, despite strangers telling me to stay down, because I was not in any pain. Now, I'm not sure if they were telling me to stay down to feign injury, or because of concern for my safety. I pretty much assumed the worst in the moment.

Still shocked at the current event, I, like an idiot, asked the driver why he hit me. He proceeded to explain that it was an accident. (Duh) I took his information just in case I really was hurt. 3 days later, I went to the hospital to get examined, after much urging from friends and family. I would not have gone otherwise. After the examination which included x-rays, it was determined that I was fine, just as I thought - just a slight ache in my back where the impact occurred. The ache faded about a week later.

Oh yeah, I brought the food to my injured friend after the incident, and told him about it.

Here is a picture of a truck similar to the one that hit me:

This story is actually an account of an event in my life. Strange, but true!