Deaf and Dumb
I almost killed a kid.
Okay, not quite.
I had just picked up a fifteen-foot moving truck and was driving it to the house to pick up some stuff before heading to Marin for a load of furniture and boxes. I was about to turn onto our street when a teen on a bicycle came pedaling around the corner. He was pedaling right down the center of the narrow road, straight towards me. He didn't see me.
I slowed down. I expected him to hear the rumble of the big truck and look up at the behemoth approaching him. He didn't.
My instinct was to further the forces of Darwinism and let him bicycle blindly, blithely to his doom. Against my nature, I stopped the truck. I suppose I did the right thing.
As he drew closer, I saw that he was wearing earbuds and fiddling with an iPod. iPods are evil. They're worse than cellphones. At least a cellphone leaves one ear free to warn of a looming threat.
I fear for our species. 
Blog Tag: Chatter
Posted 1/10/2006 10:39:00 PM
L
On 1/11/2006 7:48 AM, 
Dan Lyke said...
On 1/11/2006 11:01 AM, Candace said...
On 1/11/2006 11:53 AM, Melissa said...
On 1/11/2006 11:26 PM, Dak-Ind said...
On 1/12/2006 7:43 PM, Michelle said...
On 1/13/2006 7:52 AM, dkgoodman said...
On 1/13/2006 11:02 AM, Melissa said...
On 1/13/2006 11:37 AM, Candace said...
On 1/16/2006 11:02 PM, dkgoodman said...
On 1/17/2006 12:31 AM, Melissa said...
On 1/21/2006 10:21 PM, dkgoodman said...
11 Comments:
I've looked into this a bit because of communication systems for tandem bicycles: In California it appears to be illegal to operate a vehicle, even non-motorized, with a headset which delivers sound to both ears.
Ah, yes! The phenomenon of selective hearing (with or without headsets). Dogs have it, too. Instead of rushing into oncoming traffic, however, it sometimes causes them to chase parked cars.
Sometimes it is tempting to not interfere with nature's thinning of the herd. If that kid makes it to old age, instead of wearing earbuds, he'll be wearing hearing aides. Earbuds cause damage to hearing over time.
Candace, my dogs have never attacked a parked car, but they have run into them when distracted, but then, I have too.
Dave, how many more trips until you're done?
im not sure if its the ipod or just that the kid was a teenage male, they hear nothing, ever.
Funny, this is the second time i've read this, i was lurking earlier on.
Imagine (heaven forbid) if something did happen how devastated you would be? As much as you want to shake the kid and tell him to take the earbuds out, he really is only doing what teenage kids do.
You couldn't sleep, and I had to be there. Got it. ;)
Melissa, I wish I knew. We're making another trip this weekend in a 15-ft truck, which should clear out the rest of the furniture and a bunch of boxes, but there will still be stuff like bicycles and other detritus yet remaining. Probably a couple trips in a cargo van after that. *sigh*
The hardest part is, our old grey cat is doing poorly, and we hate to leave her, but it's got to be done.
I'm sorry about Dingus. It's horrible to have a sick pet.
Not Dingus! ::sigh::
Dingus was almost 14 years old. She'd had surgery twice in the past year or so to remove tumors from her belly. We took her to the vet last week, and the x-rays showed tumors in her lungs. She was having trouble breathing, and there was little he could do. We miss her terribly. It's still hard to talk about it without choking up. She was sweet, and affectionate, and one of the smartest cats I've ever known. We think Ringo knows she's gone. He's been extra cuddly. *sigh*
I'm so sorry. *hugs*
Thanks, Melissa. It's been a week now, and it doesn't hurt so much, but then out of the blue something will happen, like the heat coming on, and we'll think about her and it'll stab you in the heart.
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