My First Memory
Thanks to ~j. for the request...
We all have memories. Some good, some bad. This memory of mine, could be catagorized as bad except that it makes such a good story.
My mom and I lived in an apartment complex in Mt. Lake Terrace, Washington that had 2 buildings. One on the left and one on the right with a driveway/parking lot in between. The complex was located off the bend in the road; kinda like the bottom of the capital Y was the apartment driveway and the top of the Y was the road. It was at this location I had my first recallable memory.
When I was 4 years old I was run over by a taxi, my shirt caught something underneath and I was dragged about 40 feet until the neighbors got the driver to stop.
I was lying on a speedbump in the middle of our driveway/parking lot...
...at this point you're thinking, "You deserved to get run over if you're stupid enough to be lying on a speedbump in the middle of the road." But I must remind you, I was 4 years old (not 14 or 24 or 34, etc.) - would you fault a 4 year old? Well, let me continue and you might see how my 4 year old reasoning makes perfect sense...
The day was a little chilly and the pavement was warmer than the air. Well, the speedbump was warmer than the pavement, kinda like a little space heater or electric heating pad. So I'm lying there with a black & white dog (medium sized, I think it had one blue eye and one brown eye) petting and talking to it about whatever 4 year olds talk about to dogs. Then I look to my right and see the taxi coming up the road but think that it will go around the bend and on its way. He didn't turn and instead pulls into our driveway. The dog sees that the taxi is coming. He gets up and walks over to the grassy area. I, on the other hand, think to myself, "He wouldn't run over a cute little girl," and I stayed there.
The driver ran over a cute little girl.
The neighbors alerted my mom (who was taking a shower; she claims she wasn't but this is my memory) who took me to the doctor for surgery on my left shoulder. Luckily that was the only damage, other than scrapes and bruises and a really trashed shirt. They say I have no lasting effects from the accident but people who like to make fun of me say they beg to differ.
I've told you mine, now you tell me yours.
6 comments:
No, you were perfectly correct. Everyone knows the pavement is warmer than just about anywhere else. I try to remember this when I start to yell at my kids when they have been swimming and they lay out their towels on the road to lie on and warm/dry up. I still yell at them to get out of the road--I just yell a little more softly. (Unfortunately, not everyone has a speedbump in their neighborhood--I did not know that they are evern warmer, but I do now. I will remember that next time I am cold and there is a speedbump nearby) Anyway, it was perfectly reasonable for you to be lying on a speedbump in the middle of the road and you did not deserve to be run over. I am glad you are all better.
PS I love your new template. It's very PINK. I am in the mood for pink.
Drunk people know about the road being warmer - they lay on it when they're tired, and then die when they pass out there and get run over.
I love that the dog saw the car and then walked away. Are dogs smarter than young children?
I really don't know what my first memory is...and if I was able to pin it down, I don't know if it would be from an actual memory or something concocted from stories and photos.
Maybe you deserved (technically) to get run over, but you also deserved (truly) to be protected, which you were after you were. We like to keep our guardian angels busy, don't we?
Compulsive... it was time for pink.
~j... let us all watch for passed out drunks on speedbumps.
geo... i prefer the protected version ;o)
I must say getting run over while soaking in the sun on a speedbump, trumps my experience of passing through a drainage/gutter pipe when I was three.
If it were a sewage drain pipe I think you'd trump me because my experience left me with minor injuries but yours would probably require a lifetime of therapy.
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