I just came to the realization today that bad things happen to stupid people for very good reasons. Sometimes the only way the Good Lord can get a person's attention is by kicking their ass, in some way. I mean, what value is there in getting the attention of a fool, hoping to alter their foolish ways, if they are given a generous reward? Answer, they will continue their foolish behavior. However, with the administering of a royal butt-kicking, well, that's when people really seem to start paying attention.
Example: Take wrong-way Jogger's, please!
I ran into another member of the "Multitude of Fools Club" today when out on a local training ride. The sun was out, the weather beautiful, yet here he came. Popping out from between two parked trucks, pushing one of those jogger's strollers with the big wheels on it, massive headphones completely covering his ears, an oblivious, innocent infant in the seat - Coming right at me on my side of the road, against traffic.
Now, to a mere mortal, there would most likely have been a collision, however, I tend to pay extreme attention when I ride. Thus, when I saw a pair of legs under the parked trucks in front of me, I eased up on the pedals and applied the brakes. That's when "Mr. Genius" appeared from between the aforementioned trucks while at a full gait. With two, full, smooth sidewalks on each side of the road, an infant in the stroller, yet, here was this knucklehead running in the street - AGAINST TRAFFIC. An accident waiting to happen? Yes. Extremely dangerous and stupid behavior? Duh!
I only had a brief moment of this man's attention, and I said out loud what was the obvious truth: "That is extremely dangerous." And, his brilliant retort? "Shut up!" Yes, it was a very well thought out, highly educated, monumental reply to an extremely dangerous situation. This gets back to the opening paragraph of this article: That guy deserves to be smacked by a car to alter the thought process guiding his warped behavior. And, the truly sad part of such an encounter, should the unfortunate happen, would be the innocent infant in that stroller.
As for the other eye-opener on my ride, well, that one was really, really weird. I was about 100-yards from my driveway, when I suddenly saw a big dog, growling, running at full-speed, coming at me from my left-hand side. Just as I was going to accelerate in hopes of getting away from "Eddie" (of American Flyers, fame), a silver mini-van passed me on the left, hit the dog, and then swerved to a stop right in front of me. In the span of about two-seconds, I went from expecting to be bitten, to accelerating, to coming to an abrupt stop to keep from hitting the van now blocking my path. With nothing to add to the scene, I took stock of the situation and rode on.
Yes, the roads are indeed a dangerous place to be. To quote the character Sergeant Major Dickerson from the movie Good Morning, Vietnam, "Things just jump out at you," in reference to how quickly things can go from good to bad.
Looking back at the day, that van driver saved me from a probable mauling.
As for Fido? Well, he lived.
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