"Near Miss"
January 11 2007
It still amazes me how mind numbingly stupid the average person can
be. Now I do not claim to be Albert Einstein by no means. When it
comes to intelligence I am most definitely near the bottom of the
gene pool. But common sense has soon got to factor in to the equation
of right and wrong. I am constantly in a mental battle with myself to
attempt to imagine what these morons driving on the public highways
are thinking. I try to think of what the headline would have read. I
am always reading the newspaper,(not just looking at the pictures
contrary to popular belief) and finding that too many times we get
the end of the story as a result of pure negligence or quite frankly
stupidity on the part of the "victims". The "perps" are always made
out to be such evil doers and total villains that we fail to even
imagine that there could be another scenario all together. We miss
the possibility that perhaps "Joe citizen" the poor innocent victim
may not be quite so innocent after all. That is not to say that there
aren't criminals who unjustly commit harmful crimes to unsuspecting
and innocent bystanders. That certainly happens in many cases. I am
not here to defend those types of criminals, nor would I want to.
They deserve every punishment they get. I am trying to get the
general public to open their eyes to the obvious. To look at everyday
situations, "near misses" and assess what happened or what nearly
happened and why. If we take the time to do this we will see mass
stupidity. Be aware however sometimes we get snake bit and we find
the stupidity lies within the tall grass that is ourselves.
Ok on with the show. I was coming home from work (on my bike of
course) via route 982 south from Latrobe. As I entered the 15 mph
school zone in Baggaley, Pa I had a lady in a large brown four door
sedan tail gating me. I even gave her a few brake checks ( do not try
that at home I am a trained professional). She continued to ride me
until I couldn't even see her grill. I was truly amazed. It was as if
she wanted me to speed up and fly through the school zone. Whoever
she was talking to on the cell phone unfortunately could not see the
course of action she had chosen. I am not exactly the most law
abiding citizen I've ever met but when it comes to endangering the
lives of children I do my best to refrain from such actions. What
happened next really came as a shock. She put on her left turn signal
and turned into the school driveway to pick up her kid. Yes that's
right she was tailgating me in an attempt to get me speed through a
flashing 15 mph school zone in which her own child (or at least some
child she was entrusted to pick up) was waiting. Now here's my point.
Lets flash ahead into the world of what ifs and read the headlines.
Let's say she makes me nervous and I twist the throttle in an attempt
to get her of my back. I continue to look back through my mirrors to
make sure she isn't going to slam into me and leave me laying like a
slain possum along side the road. In my scared and worriesome state I
forget to let off the gas and do not get my eyes focused back on the
road until it's to late. Here in front of me running after his new
remote control H2 hummer he just got from ole Saint Nick is her very
precious cargo she was about to pick up. I slam my brakes and counter
steer but it's to late. As the bike slides sideways the young boys
legs are taken out from under him and immediately crushed. The bike
continues to completely run him over crushing his spine and neck. The
boy is killed almost instantly. The now frantic tailgater instantly
begins to scream and panic. She is franticly searching for witnesses
to this vehicular homicide that I have just so blatantly committed.
The headlines in the Tribune Review the next day read as follows,
"Speeding Biker Murders Innocent Young Boy". The article continues to
tell how I was recklessly endangering the lives of young children
without care or concern. It goes on to say how I was not wearing a
helmet and had a knife on my side. The article will dive deep into my
storied past to find out that I have had speeding tickets in the past
and have even had my license revoked. The judge and jury will only
see the tears of the young childs mother. They will hear testimony of
witnesses, other mothers who were waiting for their little bundles of
joy to come out of school. Witnesses who saw me ruin the hopes and
dreams of this family. No will have seen me trying to get out of
harms way from the two ton monster that was attempting to keep me
from my destination. I wanted to get home as well. My four year old
daughter was waiting for me. We were "gonna rastle" as she says. We
were going to have supper and play "horsey". We might have watched
some tv or played the deer huntin game she got for Christmas. I am
sentenced to life without parole for the senseless and heinous crime
I have committed. I will only see my daughter when my wife brings her
on visitation days at the state pen. I feel sorry for the loss of
life that did not have to take place. I suffer miserably until well
into my seventies when I die alone in a cold jail cell. My daughter
grows up without her daddy to watch her games and teach her how to
hunt and ride and grow up strong. The little boy dies and never gets
to experience any of lifes pleasures. The "innocent victim" driving
to school to pick up her son that she loved so much, the cell phone
yielding, tailgating murderer behind the scenes, she goes free. Free
to terrorize the streets behind her soccer mom disguise. Keep your
eyes open she's out there, you might be next!
DESERTDAWG
