You take a chance every time you cross the street. I was just reminded of that sage advice, delivered to me repeatedly ad nauseam by the estate attorney who handled my father’s affairs. I took no extraordinary risks today, but out of nowhere this gentleman started talking to me about cars, and how he was amazed that, moments earlier, a driver actually stopped to let him cross the street. I mean, I think that is what he was talking about. He seemed like a nice guy, not crazy, but not very articulate or, dare I say, intelligent. Intelligence is over-rated, so I don’t mean to imply that people lacking that quality are lesser creatures because of it.
He just went on and on and on about V8 versus V6 engines and how fast cars can go. I had no idea what he was trying to say. His comment about being allowed to cross the road, however, reminded me of the “take a chance” comment which became the stuff of monotonous legend. It is true, of course. The moment you step outside you expose yourself to the risk of accidental annihilation. Crossing the street is, I think, a neglected field of study, and an utter playground for mental randomness somehow prevailing over potential chaos. So many little calculations, mathematical and spatial, inform the decision making process of crossing the street. I heard once of a study on how people park cars. The study found that dozens upon dozens of subconscious mathematical calculations are performed by the person parking their car. A study of crossing the street, if not done already, would probably reveal similar mental machinations.
Today just breezed on by. I found someone’s pay stub on 28th Street. 23.75 hours at an hourly rate of $11.25 brought home $225.96 (after deductions). The employee is named Giuseppe, and he works at a RiteAid. His YTD Net Pay is $423.35. Well, I have made more than that, but probably performed far fewer hours of actual work so far. I wonder if his “Emplid” is his social security number? It has the right number of digits, but starts with 300. A social security widget thingie says Giuseppe’s SSN would have been issued in Ohio in 1976. That widget seems to be accurate. It determined my SSN was issued in Florida in 1985, which sounds about right. I would have been 17, and I remember getting it later than what I thought was the usual 16 years old. I did not get my first job for another year, though, during the summer of 1986 between high school and college. I vaguely remember standing in line to get my social security card at a place near or possibly in the same space as a DMV where I took the written driving test. White walls and a lot of people laughing.
I still have my social security card. Once it seriously bailed me out. I was flying somewhere unaware that a new rule requiring photo ID had been put in place. I for some reason did not have my drivers license, and they threatened to not let me board. But when I said I had a social security card and a credit card they said that that was an acceptable alternative. I would have never guessed that, it was just dumb luck.
One of the questions on the written driving test was multiple choice. An image of the “Slippery When Wet” sign was shown. One of the choices for an answer was “Drunk Driver Ahead.” Drunk driving had not really become a widely-known evil yet, though it was getting there. I doubt you could get away with making a joke out of drunk driving these days, at least at the DMV.
It was an incident involving someone at my high school that was, at the time, thought to be a watershed in the changing attitudes toward drunk driving. I wonder if that has remained true or if I came to believe that from school propaganda. The student who was behind the wheel came to one of my classes to deliver a speech on the dangers of driving drunk. I don’t know how strongly the issue really impressed itself on the lot of us, none of whom were old enough to drink. But his delivery was deadpan when he described what happened. He drove the car the wrong way onto the Gandy Bridge, reaching an estimated speed of 70mph colliding head one with another vehicle. He was convicted on two counts of manslaughter but today I think he might be charged with vehicular homicide or even murder. Part of his plea deal was that he would go to every class in our school and deliver this speech to raise awareness. I remember the husband of one of the victims requesting leniency, saying that the lives ruined by this wreck need not inspire the ruin of yet another. I’ve heard that sentiment too few times, not that I would be in any position to hear it.
A death penalty attorney on the radio said he’d been prosecuting and defending death row prisoners for 40 years. In that time he got to know and work with many people whose husbands and wives had been murdered. Most people were, in time, able to recover from the emotional carnage of losing a loved one to a murderer. But in no case was the path to reclaiming one’s life paved by the death of another person. If anything it only further stained the waters. Vengeance does not breed redemption or peace of mind.
I am going to throw this pay stub out. It is not something I need to be found with, should I for some reason get raided or abducted.
Somewhat amazing that I cannot seem to find anything on the WWW regarding that drunk driving incident. The driver had a pretty distinctive name… reputation.com at work? There was another notorious incident involving someone from my high school, a kid from a very wealthy family who, along with 4 other guys, raped and attacked a woman in his house. That story I can find all over the place online. But this drunk driving thing — which was covered as the big deal that it was — is not anywhere. Hmm.
