I have mentioned before that I rode motorcycles for much of my life. When Terry was a teenager she had a bad experience with a foolish uncle who took her on a wild ride, and she was understandably never comfortable on motorcycles after that. After we got together, I sold my last bike and didn’t ride for 10 years.
Then I got it in my head to buy another bike, and I purchased a beautiful 1100cc Yamaha V Star. It was bigger than the 650cc and 750cc bikes I had always ridden, and between that and going over a decade without a bike, my skills were very rusty. I kept it a couple of years, but it just wasn’t fun anymore.
Another reason I stopped riding is because there are so many idiots on the road these days. Twice in the time I had the bike, I came close to getting into an accident. Once, someone pulled out of a driveway directly in front of me, and I thought I was going to have to lay it down to avoid a collision. Another time, a girl texting or talking on her phone came into my lane, and I had to take quick, evasive action.
And it’s not just motorcycles that have to watch out for careless drivers. The other day, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood was riding his bicycle when a clueless 20-year-old twit ordering something on her cell phone while she was driving hit him from behind. The impact was so hard that her passenger side mirror broke off and was impaled in the sheriff’s back. The clueless woman kept on going, but a trash truck was following her car and the driver’s dashboard camera captured the whole thing. He stopped and rendered aid to the sheriff and called for help.
Fortunately, though Sheriff Chitwood is pretty banged up and in a lot of pain, he is going to be okay. There’s a reason we call him Iron Mike around here. Who do you know that works all day and then routinely gets on his bicycle and goes for a 20-mile ride after work? Iron Mike does. He’s also one of the most outstanding lawmen around. He doesn’t just sit in his office, he is out working the streets every day and he is famous for calling criminals who molest children or assault women and the elderly scumbags in his news conferences. Yeah, he’s my kind of guy.
Using the trash truck’s video, police tracked the young woman down at her grandparents’ house, and she was just as vapid then, saying that she thought she had hit a mailbox. There are two problems with that; the video shows there are no mailboxes along that road, and even if it was a mailbox, you don’t just drive away, you stop and file a report. I hope they throw the book at this girl. Being young and stupid does not excuse actions like that.
No matter if you ride a bike or a motorcycle, or drive a full-size SUV, be careful, folks. There are twits out there who will kill you and keep right on driving.
Yesterday was beautiful, with a high of 72° and a steady breeze blowing all day long. We opened up all the windows to let the fresh air in. My office door opens onto our carport, and then it’s a short distance to the street. While I was sitting here working on my new Tinder Street book with the door open, I could hear Terry having a sneezing fit from the other end of the house. I shouted “bless you” to her, and a woman walking by outside called back, “Thank you.” I don’t know if she sneezed, too, or if she thinks I’m some kind of religious fanatic. Either way, I guess it’s okay.
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Thought For The Day – You people need to start appreciating the effort I put into not being a serial killer.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
That gal should lose her license for a minimum of 10 years. Perhaps if more of that was done, it would make people think twice about texting/talking on the phone while driving. And the car should be impounded. Make it hard on the perpetrator.
I agree with Dale. It would be great if while driving the cell phone wouldn’t work. Only when parked would the phone signal be available. Probably never happen tho.