Per your suggestions, I've selected as this post's title a song by Breaking Laces, the not-terrible art band that recorded it. Anyway...
About an hour ago, while it was still quite dark, I had just kissed my wife goodbye and was settling my commuter coffee mug into its holder when I saw a cyclist ride past the end of my driveway without so much as a blinking taillight to announce his presence.
I quickly flipped on the headlights in time to see a heavy-set, middle-aged man on a silver mountain bike. He was wearing shorts, a short-sleeved button-down shirt with the tail flapping, and no helmet.
In the dark.
My first thought was to jump out of the car and holler for him to stop so that I could suggest, with all the persuasive charm at my disposal, that he pick up an inexpensive set of lights and a helmet. But I was sleepy, and by the time the thought had gelled, he'd reached the end of the cul de sac, turned on to the sidewalk, and headed south.
I started the car, pulled out of the driveway, and made my way through the neighborhood to the main road. I had just stopped and flipped on my blinker, when the same guy zipped past my front bumper going against the traffic (i.e., "the wrong way") down a major four-lane divided street. With no helmet.
In. The dark.
I thanked God, on the rider's behalf, for the orange glow provided by the sodium street lamps the city recently planted all along the median, and then I tossed in a little bonus prayer that this clueless, clueless man would find his way safely home and not leave his wife a widow and his children fatherless.
"God protects fools and drunks," goes the old cliché. I just hope omnipotence comes with really good night vision.
10 comments:
just do what some of these musicians do and use a number for a title.
like, say, post # 2,395.
e+
Maybe he was on a suicide mission...the title might be (in keeping with Eric's music title theme) "Take the Long Way Home" if that's not too esoteric.
"Maybe he was on a suicide mission." Good point! Although I thought bridges were the fad. Or maybe that was the lemmings.
I doubt the guy has a death wish. He's just ignorant of how dangerous what he's doing really is. And he's not alone.
I didn't see him this morning but nearly ran over a woman on a mountain bike. I say "nearly"; I actually saw her in plenty of time—but only because I'm always watching for cyclists.
She was riding along the same busy street, but a couple hundreds of yards further south, where it's not as well lit. I caught just the faintest glint of a reflector, was able to make out her silhoutte, and pulled into the next lane. But again... she needed to have a blinky taillight at the bare minimum, because I can guaran-damn-tee that Mr. Thurston Howell III coming down out of Fairview in his Mercedes SUV will be too busy talking on his cell phone to notice her. Bubba Joe in his GMC duallie won't even register her as more than "Hmm... musta bin somethin' in th'road."
I stopped to put gas in the car about half a mile down the road, and I saw her make the turn down an even busier street, but fortunately she took to the sidewalk.
Most of you guys are probably mystified by my spending time on this, but it's just so frustrating to me, knowing how much danger these folks are in, but not knowing how to communicate it to them. I'm sure that, if I'd met either of these folks at last night's Neighborhood Out night, I wouldn't have had any problem convincing them to make themselves more visible. But as it is, if I had pulled over and tried to talk to this morning's woman, I would probably have gotten maced.
WV: "aksem". Timely, because that's what I wish I could do. As in "What in heaven's name are you thinking??"
"aksem" indeed. :-)
with all the persuasive charm at my disposal
Would this persuasion be something like applying 'the verb' to his ancestry, his dog, his backside, and his helmetless head?
How about generating some fodder. Tink is gone for a whole week. I know there's something going on in that head of yours.
Alrighty Foobaroo. It's 'bout time you listen to your wife and post something. ;-)
Your audience awaits, dear! It must really bite when you have adoring fans awaiting to hear the next words that come from your mouth. No one wants to hear what I have to say. 'Course, unlike the rest of ya'll, I got nothing to say as evidenced by the lack of fodder on my own blog. *sigh* Foo...speak!
I've been here about fifty times waiting for the "light" to change. You're about as bad as me.
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