First I called work, then I called Jordan. Then I called my mom and she didn’t
answer. She was playing tennis. So I called my dad and when he answered I
told him that I almost died this morning.
I was still in shock by being thrown into the middle of the road off my
bike. Remember my earlier post that
mentioned bikers hitting opening car doors?
I’m officially part of the club.
The biker club. I almost need a tattoo.
Bikers or cyclists? Are bikers only the kinds that ride motorcycles? I’m not a cyclist. My seat is way too low to the ground.
I left my apartment this morning and hopped on my bike and I
couldn’t stop thinking about helmets.
Imagining my head being protected by the Styrofoam and plastic in the
case of an accident. Bouncing on the
pavement. Fine. I kept thinking about it. It has never occurred to me not to wear one,
though my hair looked really good this morning and I was fantasizing about it
blowing in the wind behind me. Helmets.
I crossed Telegraph and continued down Derby. I love riding down that street because it is
often free of cars. There are trees and
pretty houses, people walking their dogs. The big speed bumps are fun to ride
over. I approached a parked green van and suddenly
time slowed down. I saw his door open
about a foot in front of me but by then it was too late. Abruptly I was stopped and my body was
propelled by the sudden jerk of the bike into the middle of the street. Today there
were cars. Fortunately the one behind me
was driving slow enough to stop and get out of her car and not run over me. I rolled a few times and I then I laid there
like a slug.
“What. That just happened.”
And then I got up.
The guy in the car was so profusely apologetic.
“I’m so so sorry! I should have looked! I didn’t even see you coming are you OK are
you hurt!?”
And I was fine and shaking and I got up and hurriedly picked
up my stuff.
“My bike. Is it
broken? Where’s my purse? Is my helmet
still on?”
I kept on saying I’m fine I’m fine. Everyone was freaking out. People were telling me to take my time but I knew
that I needed to cry so I kept on picking up my things. Bike basket.
Lunch! Lock, chain. Focus.
The man and woman were so nice. It was obvious that my head was OK. Protected by that helmet. And my neck was fine. They kept asking me about my neck. He offered me a ride but I just wanted to get
out of there so I said that I was fine again and we said goodbye.
I got back on my bike but the chain had come loose so I got
off and started walking. I called my
people. Jordan was so worried about me
and I think my dad almost cried. Finally
my mom called back and she asked if I had taken down the guy’s number. I didn’t. I was fine. Just shocked.
Not going in to work today.
They understand. My leg is
bruised pretty bad and my elbow has blood on it and it’s hard to walk. But it
could have been so much worse. The woman
behind me could have not stopped. I
could have been going faster down that hill. Why had I been thinking about
helmets? I could have ignored the random feeling to wear actual shoes instead
of my Rainbows. I could have just worn
the cardigan that I was planning on wearing.
But it’s Kellie’s and I don’t really like cardigans so I wore my new thick
jacket I bought last weekend. I wore
these jeans that I never wear to work because the heels are all worn out so I can’t
wear heels with them. But I wore them
today. Those jeans are the toughest! This morning as I put them on I was mad that
even though the heels are worn out they have lasted way longer than any pair of
Joes jeans I have. I’m never buying Joes again.
They probably would have gotten all scraped and holey. Helmets.
I was protected this morning. And I know that my Heavenly Father was
looking out for me. As I walked home
crying all I wanted to do was pray and thank Him. I’m not really sure what to make of all of
the things that happened. It was just a
morning and a thing that happened. It
was a day. This wasn’t life
changing. I didn’t have any fantastic
futuristic visions. I don’t even know if
it could be considered near death. (I’m
always really dramatic with my dad.)
I’m just trying to
understand it.
(I DO understand, however, that one of the laws of physics
goes something like, if a thing stops and there’s a thing on it, the thing on
the thing will not stop. I’m living proof of physics. Hardest class at
BYU. Hate.)
