almost died

Have you ever had one of those days where you just narrowly escaped death?  Who hasn't?  Show of hands?

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014, was that kind of day for me.

I was almost killed by a red-light-running, speeding Metro bus driver as I prepared to cross a street downtown in the still-dark hours of 7:00am.  

Waiting on the curb at Smith and Walker until the WALK sign lit up, I raised my leg to step into the street to cross Smith, but something stopped me.  A loud whooshing sound to my left, and then inches from my face, with bus passengers expressions frozen in the rapidly passing, illuminated windows.  The wind almost knocked me backward.

If I had made that step into the street a split-second earlier, I would have been flattened by a 20-ton bus traveling 30 mph.  If I had survived, which is unlikely, I would have been mangled beyond recognition, surely for the rest of my life.

After the bus flew past me, I looked to my left at the two guys that were also waiting to cross the street with me.  Both of their mouths were open wide in shock and horror, their eyes staring at me.  They realized they had almost witnessed a killing just a few feet from them.  

I crossed the street, a little dazed.  When I reached the other side I made a mental note of the bus number and the time of day.  The bus driver had to stop at the very next light at McKinney because the light was red, and all the lanes were full of cars.  The driver almost killed me running the light at Walker, all in a hurry, just to stop at the next street, McKinney.

As I entered my building, I felt a little dizzy and started to shake.

not this time, reaper!

I had an elevator all to myself, and as I made my way upstairs to my office, I replayed the scene over and over in my mind and I could feel my heart racing.  I had narrowly escaped becoming a statistic.  And that was the same intersection where a co-worker was flattened and killed by another Metro bus four years earlier.

I reached my desk and sat down.  No one else was in the office yet, and I sat in the quiet and began to sob.  

Some people might thank the Lord for saving their lives, for keeping them from stepping into the street.  Those kind of people really piss me off.  Like their life is so much more important to God than anyone else's.  As an atheist, I certainly won't do that.  I realize that life is a beautiful random swirling mix of bullshit, love, light, and chaos.  In most cases, you survive because you're lucky.  Or you're smart.  But not because some fucking God decided in a split second to save your smelly ass.

Experiences like this can drive some people mad when they gaze into the abyss and glimpse the randomness of life.  Some who come close to death but survive gain a newfound appreciation for life and living.  Some just shrug their shoulders and move on.

Today on the news I heard of one guy getting shot and killed over an argument over a parking space.  Over. A. Fucking. Parking. Space.  I guess God wasn't paying attention at the time.  Perhaps she had better things to do.

Be careful out there.  The life you save may be your own.  But realize that no matter how careful you may be, the asteroid may still strike, annihilating all life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Or just you.

Cheers!

Oh, and a P.S.  I reported the incident on Metro's website.  Two days later, no response, no acknowledgement, no apology, no nothing from Metro.  Just another day in the city.