Something 4 The Weekend # 244

The Kinks:  "Do You Remember Walter?"  [mp3]

I had just turned onto Wright Street over by MATC, so I was only about half a mile from home.  It was quarter after six, and I was looking forward to watching the Olympics opening ceremony.  I had a bag full of groceries that included a pound of Ranier cherries and a healthy wedge of Double Gloucester, my favorite cheese.  The cheese they roll down a big hill in Gloucester every year, and dozens die. 

....

I was behind a small black car that was behind a dude on a motorcycle, and I had noticed as he made the turn before me, that his bike was jerking a bit, as if the guy had little experience and was popping the clutch too fast whilst not giving it enough gas. 

You know. 

Not long after I had successfully navigated the turn myself, I see his front wheel start to violently wobble, and then, quite suddenly, the front tire jerks to the left and the bike and rider go down fast and hard.

The small black car stops immediately behind him, and I creep around the whole scene and park soon after.

The dude is able to get himself out from under the bike, which can be difficult as his ride probably weighed about 500 pounds, but when he attempts to stand up, his legs crumple and he goes down hard again, rolling around on the asphalt and now wildly trying to peel off his helmet.

By the time I reach him, it's apparent that his left knee is fucked up.  The kneecap is not where it should be, and his leg was bent in an unsettling position.  His bike, meanwhile, is leaking oil like a mofo, and the front brake assembly is smoking rather impressively.  His front brakes had locked up, simple as that.

It's a busy intersection, due to MATC and the fairly large apartment complex facing this street and the accident, so I'm only one of about 15 people that seemingly appear out of nowhere in a matter of seconds.  A middle-aged woman who identified herself as a registered nurse quickly took control of the situation, compelling me and another guy to fireman carry the guy over to the grassy curbside as she keeps his knee immobilized. 

Done and done.

She's taking his pulse, and says he's going into shock, information that a young MATC coed is relaying to the 911 operator via a very gaudy cellphone.  Others are taking pictures and video with their phones.

The first cop is there within a minute, I shit you not.  Perhaps more impressively, a firetruck with a paramedic is there about two minutes later.

The dude was fairly coherent, but definitely in pain.  He would laugh softly from time to time, and somehow that seemed like an appropriate thing to do when suffering a dislocated knee.  The whole thing made me a bit nauseous, so I lit a cigarette and went to take a look at the bike, waiting to give my statement to the officer, which I eventually did.

I wished the fucked-up dude good luck, and drove the last few blocks to my house.  The broadcast of the opening ceremony was well underway on NBC by the time I got home.

I don't really have anything to say about the ceremony at the moment, although I kept thinking that if I had produced it, I might have used nothing but Kinks tunes for the "soundtrack".

Hotcha!  Hank