Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
As the eyewitness reports of Dre’s bike wreck start to come in, I’m going through shock all over again. People could hear the crack of his helmet on the pavement from 30 feet away. He went into convulsions before he regained consciousness. One rider thought he was dead. I’m having aftershocks of mortification and terror and then I creep into the bedroom and watch Andreas sleep for a few minutes and almost start crying at it all … but see the eye surgery I had messes with your tear production for a little while, and so no tears come and so I just pet his scabby head and am thankful. Because what else can I do?
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
You're reading a page from the archives. Check the homepage for current content.
Philos
July 18th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Yikes! I’m just catching up now. Good to hear he’s okay, hope recovery goes apace and well.
chasmyn
July 19th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
((HUG)) I’m glad he is okay, too.
Steve Leppard
July 20th, 2006 at 11:48 am
Hi all -
I had to google to find some information about this rider, and was led to this forum, which I did not know existed. I am so glad to hear that Andreas is okay - I was about ten bikes behind him, saw the whole accident happen, and, I have to admit, I thought that he was a goner or at the very least would be permanently damaged to the point where he was not going to be his old self. Kudos to the dreadlocked rider who helped him out. I was pretty much freaked out watching him convulse on the road - it was a sight that I can’t erase from my mind and has haunted me. I was upset all Saturday morning, with the “what ifs” etc., and I’m a pretty low-key, not-especially-emotional guy. In Portland I gave my wife and baby an extra hug and kiss, knowing that “there but for the grace of God go I.”
Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery, Andreas. Let this be a lesson to all of us about the saving graces of helmets.
Steve
Qathi
July 22nd, 2006 at 5:25 pm
My brother the photographer used to work part time at a portrait studio and as a messenger, I believe he may be one of the oldest living messengers in the city of Seattle. While he was at the portrait studio he had all of the working messengers in town come through to sit for a passport style photo. At the end of the year he assembled a wall of photos of all those messengers who’d died through the year from bike messing. While he no longer works at the studio, the project has grown legs, he has continued to take pix of all the working messengers, and the wall of photos grows. Hopefully that little messenger won’t end up on my brothers wall of death.
One’d have to be a total f*ing nincompoop to ride without a helmet. I have definitely been one of those crazy ladies yelling out “HELMET” to those I pedal/ride/drive past.
I’m glad Dre is alright – being that he is not a nincompoop and all.