On Saturday, I was over in Sis-Town to mail my first letter to Genius since I returned home from my Unfortunate HospitVALzation. I haven't been down to use New Delly in my dark basement lair. I was down there to print a copy of our tax return a few days ago, but the giant industrial printer Genius gave us, from a deal he got through the university when he was in college, ran out of ink in the yellow cartridge. That means it won't print! Not even on grayscale, with plenty of ink remaining in the blue, black, and magenta cartridges.
Anyhoo... I had handwritten a letter, and of course enclosed some scratchers. I also went to get a bit of gas for T-Hoe at the Sis-Town Casey's. I took the back way towards home. In involves the street where The Pony broke his ankle two months into his CCA (City Carrier Assistant) career with the USPS. On the right side of the street, in the block where the houses and the sidewalks end.
Anyhoo... I was tooling along in T-Hoe, noting the scene of The Pony's accident, listening to 70s classics on the radio. There's a soccer park along that street, on the left. I was going up a slight hill, approaching a sharp curve to the right. A woman and three little boys had just come around the curve. They were on the left, the soccer fields side. No interest to me. They were well out of my way. The boys were all the same size. Maybe 4 years old. The one in the lead had a little scooter. The kind that looks like a skateboard with a handle. He was pushing it along beside him, not riding it.
Something told me to KEEP AN EYE ON THOSE KIDS. Nothing out loud. Just a hunch. BE WARY. I can't explain it. I've had that kind of feeling before, late at night on the highway, where I always made a right turn onto a side road. I'd get over on the shoulder so as not to slow down traffic as I approached my turn. That one night, something told me not to do that. And when I got close enough to turn, I saw a car parked on the shoulder just before my turn-off. I would have slammed into the back of it by the time my lights illuminated it, and I realized it was there.
Anyhoo... I was only going about 20 miles per hour down this street, because I'd been looking at where The Pony broke his ankle. I kept my eye on those boys. My nerves were humming.
WHOOPSIE!
The boy lost his hold on the scooter! The scooter rolled along, picking up speed, and veered into my lane! It was headed straight for T-Hoe! I put on the brakes. Came to a complete stop, and waited for the impact. A little scooter wouldn't hurt T-Hoe.
The little boy started running after the scooter! The lady hollered at him to STOP, panic on her face as she chased after him. The boy turned and ran back to his side of the road, but the lady kept running and caught the scooter before it hit T-Hoe. She pushed it back to the boys, who were standing still on the side of the road, the scooter boy crying. The lady pushed the scooter back, and briefly scolded the crier for running into the road. She held onto the scooter. They continued down the hill. I moved T-Hoe forward again. I smiled and waved at the lady.
You can never be too careful around little kids near a street.
6 comments:
I always slow down when I see children on the loose! Even with adult supervision, they are fast and unaware of danger. Kudos to you for handwriting a letter! My arthritic thumb screams when I write or count out pills. My handwriting is almost illegible, though still better than the writing Of HeWho!
Kathy,
That's such a wide street, you'd never expect there to be a problem. Room for four cars across. But kids are SPEEDY! I don't want T-Hoe to be a kid-magnet!
Genius will be surprised by the letter. I didn't tell him I had resumed sending his weekly scratchers.
That was your teacher radar still working.
Didn't the lady give you a wave? She should have, since it could have been a deadly encounter. (Thankfully, you were extra cautious and watchful.)
another reason to be glad I don't drive. I'd hate to accidentally hit a child who ran right in front of me. Ditto for an adult. I remember when we were little we were taught at school to NEVER chase a toy of any sort if it ran or rolled onto the road. There were images of a ball on the road then that same ball squished under the wheel of a car.
I remember our teacher being VERY stern as she told the class "that ball could be YOU!"
Angie,
Yes, that program is still running in the background!
***
Sioux,
No. She had her hands full with the scooter, and three little-boy hands! I think maybe she gave a little nod. She DID look and see my wave. I imagine her heart was pounding like a jackhammer.
***
River,
That squished ball is certainly dramatic! Yet you remember it after all these years, so it was effective.
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