Next came not a fall but a car accident. Backing her
ChevyImpala outofher driveway,sheshotacrossthe
street,overthecurb,andthroughayard,andcouldnot
stopthecaruntilitendedupinsomebushesagainsther
neighbor’s house. The family speculated that she’d
stompedon theacceleratorinstead of thebrake.Alice
insisted the accelerator had got stuck. She thought of
herselfasagooddriverandhatedtheideathatanyone
would think that the problem was her age.
Thebody’sdeclinecreepslikea vine.Day today,the
changes can be imperceptible. You adapt. Then
somethinghappensthatfinallymakesitclearthatthings
arenolongerthesame.Thefallsdidn’tdoit.Thecar
accident didn’t do it. Instead, it was a scam that did.
Notlongafterthecaraccident,Alicehiredtwomento
performtreeandyardwork.Theysetareasonableprice
with her but clearly saw her as a mark. When they
finishedthe job, theytold her that sheowed nearly a
thousanddollars.Shebalked.Shewasverycarefuland
organized about money. But they got angry and
threatening,and,cornered,shewrotethecheck.Shewas
shaken but alsoembarrassed and toldnoone aboutit,
hopingshecouldputitbehindher.Adaylater,themen
returnedlateintheeveninganddemandedshepaymore.
She argued with them, but in the end she wrote that
check, too. The ultimate total was more than seven
thousand dollars. Again, she wasn’t going to say
anything.Neighbors,however,heardtheraisedvoicesat
Alice’s doorstep and called the police.
Themenwere gone by thetime thepolice arrived.A
policemantookastatementfromAliceandpromisedto