Don't get caught in the Mist

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 :)

3 comments:

Chris said...

Blogging Research

I am a doctoral student, studying at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY.

I am conducting a research project on the topic of blogging and would like to invite you to participate as a subject in my study. Ferkauf faculty member Dr. Shelly Goldklank is supervising this project. You have been selected for participation in this study as part of a random sample of bloggers.

I would greatly appreciate your assistance in completing a questionnaire regarding your use of your blog, as well as an online survey of your personality traits. Additionally, I ask for demographic information, such as age, gender, etc. After I receive your answers to the questionnaire on your blog usage, I will contact you again to review your responses or to ask new questions that arise from your initial responses. The time to complete the entire survey is about 30-50 minutes. This study has been reviewed and approved by the Committee on Clinical Investigations Institutional Review Board at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

To participate in this research study you must be at least 18 years old. You must also be a blogger who updates your blog at least weekly for a minimum of 3 months. At least one of your blogs must be public. Your participation in the study is voluntary. Your identity will be kept confidential and data referenced in the final results will be stripped of identifying information. Your name and contact information will be kept in a locked box for the duration of the research study and this same contact information will be destroyed six months after completion of the study. The research study will be completed June 2008 at the latest. Within six months after the completion of the study those subjects interested in obtaining the results may receive them at the end of the study, at which time I may retrieve the names and addresses from the locked file.

There are no direct benefits to all participants in the study. Your completion of the on-line survey will indicate that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms of participation in this study as outlined above.

If you are interested in participate in this study, please email me at chrisbelz@gmail.com. I will then email you a link to the online survey, as well as the questionnaire I have designed.

Thank you again for your assistance with the completion of this research project.

Sincerely,

Christopher Belz, M.A.
Doctoral Student
chrisbelz@gmail.com (preferred email)
cbelz@yu.edu (school email)
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Rousso Building
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Yeshiva University
1165 Morris Park Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461

Tippa Feltman said...

Oh my gosh! That is horrible...yes, the fact that someone died, but to get sprayed with dead blood juice....yikes!

Hope little Gracie was not with you??!!

Anonymous said...

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