UPDATE: Poor man was hit by a truck, dragged for a distance, then left while the truck drove away. Very sad!
Stephen has been taking me to a cafe most mornings on his way to work so I can read and do a devotional or two...mostly just to get out of the apartment and "do something with my life." Well, today we noticed the traffic was pretty bad, so we went the backway towards the park where Gracie and I play (and where the Big Top is). Well, as we approached we saw a fire truck and an ambulance and quite a few cop cars. As we got even closer, we realized something terrible had happened. You don't just pull out the tents for a fender bender or traffic violation. So what do I do? Document it for the blog.
Now I'm really curious. Did someone die? Get murdered? What happened. We discuss how terrible it is and Stephen drops me off at the coffee shop. I go in, and a few minutes later a group of people come in discussing it. I didn't catch everything they were saying, but I did catch "dead" and gathered it was by stabbing. By gathered I mean this one lady with fire red hair was making a stabbing gesture and saying how terrible it was. So terrible that she ordered a coffee and kissed everyone at the bar before lighting her cigarette. I sat down in my normal area and went on as usual. Three hours later it I had completed my book and decided to leave. I walked across the park, checked out the admission for the circus and then headed home. But the direction I was headed still was roped off and hadn't changed much from the pictures above. So, I kind of lingered and watched what others were doing. Do I cross the roundabout (cars were blocking so no one could drive through) or go on the crosswalk (see pic on right above) that everyone else seemed to be using? I stayed back and watched a large group of people use the crosswalk, in between the fire truck and the tents mind you, and no one yelled at them and nothing "popped out" at them...so I figured it was safe. As I started across the crosswalk, a heard a huge "whoosh" as the fire trucks' hose began to POWERWASH the street. About the time I get to the curb, huge amounts of VERY bloody water begin to crash against the curb, on its way to the sewer opening in the street. I jump across, narrowly missing a foot-in-blood-that's-not-mine ordeal. I turn around to see if the guy did it on purpose. Not sure what I would have done, but I was intending to give him a dirty look when I see something chunky being washed to the sewer grate. In my head I think it's brains, but I'm sure it was gauze or something used by the paramedics. Either way, I was about to dry heave when a huge gust of wind came and misted myself and the crowd of onlookers with dead body juice. It happened so fast, but I ran just as soon as I realized what was happening to the shelter of a corner store to avoid getting drenched. Completely disgusted, dry heaving and standing in disbelief, what do I do? Document it for the blog.
After I collected my thoughts and "wiped my face clean" I moved over to where I could get a better look. You guys know I'm nosey, don't act surprised! As I watched, a homeless man started to reenact his story of what happened. Apparantly, two people treid to walk across the street and were hit by a truck, then rolled to their current locations. He was pretty animated, and his story was believeable. But, in the end we don't know what "really" happened. I can tell you that, after I felt I knew all the scoop, I came home and washed my face :)
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
2 years ago
