Your Exceptional Life

Today is a public service announcement.  The City is working on Clayton Road and traffic is rerouted down Ayers.  This morning I was walking my dogs and crossing Ayers.  I was almost run down by a driver who was speeding and was intending, until she saw me in the middle of the street, on running the stop sign at Olive.  You all know Olive, that’s where Mr. Xmas lives.  What this woman didn’t think about is the kids and cats and dogs and residents who live in this neighborhood.  We all live in our own separate neighborhoods.  We should treat every neighborhood as if it was our child who might run out to get a ball, or a puppy or a cat.  It takes a second to say goodbye.

A good friend of mine was driving safely through a residential neighborhood 25 years ago.  She’s the woman you get behind who signals at every turn, has her hands at 10 and 2 and never exceeds the speed limit.  A four year old child ran out.  It was the child’s fault, even the civil jury cleared my friend of any wrong doing.  In less than five seconds, a child ran out from between two parked cars, my friend, who was 18 at the time, slammed on the brakes, and it was too late.  A child was dead and two families were destroyed.   And she was driving safely.  I wonder what people think when they speed through residential areas.  I say “drive as if your child was in the other guy’s car”.  A vehicle is a lethal weapon, we should all treat it as such.  I will confess to numerous moving violations, and most have occurred on highways, generally lonesome highways.  None have occurred where kids, cats or dogs could be hurt.  Let’s take a moment for the little ones, because it takes a second to say goodbye.