It could have been over just like that…..

I could have been seriously hurt last night, or even killed!! People in this town are getting more and more oblivious to their surroundings. Its sad really. I was having some cocktails with some of my best friends last night at The Independent and then Mortimer’s in Uptown. We left Mortimer’s, and I decided to stop by the gas station on my way home to pick up some cheese. Yes, cheese. I love cheese with a passion and I was out at the house. I wait at the light on 22nd and Lyndale. Green light, and the go ahead to cross. Now picture this in your head. Lets say you are in your car about to leave the house. You need to get something out of the back seat. You turn around looking at the seat and  with your right arm, reaching to get whatever object it is you desire. Got it? Ok. Picture this exact same scenario only a guy is driving his car, turning at a light, and going at a pretty good clip. This is what approached me as I crossed the street. My god. The stupidity. How dumb do you have to be to do something like this? I only hope the guy was at least sober. The ironic part is, when I walk I usually have my head down. I can’t explain why, I just do. I would have been creamed. I’m talking flattened. For whatever reason last night, I happened to be looking right at the car as I crossed. I stopped, put my arms up in disgust. He only noticed me after he passed me. Remember,  I had the go ahead to walk across. The rest of my walk home I kept thinking what if? What if I didn’t notice the car speeding around that turn? Would I be around to talk about it right now? Would I be in a hospital bed? Or the morgue?
Now I know if I was not looking at the car while I was crossing and did get hit, I can’t put all of the blame on this man. Anyone crossing a crosswalk even if they have the green light to do so, should be watching their surroundings. The thing that bugs me is what he was doing. We’re in Uptown. A place in the cities where people are crossing the streets constantly. Just a block down on Franklin is a crossing for the blind. It just seems like common sense that when you are turning at a light in this area of town, you should always be watching for pedestrians. Not this guy. The complete opposite. I saw the back of his head. THE BACK. I hope that guy realized what he did last night and will wise up the next time he gets behind the wheel. It makes me grateful I didn’t get hit. I was reading the obituaries this morning in the newspaper. This young man from Iowa had died at the young age of 20. I started thinking. This man had an entire life of accomplishments to achieve. Such a sad thing. Hearing about people dying at too young of an age. Ya know what? In some aspect it makes be think twice about what I’m doing with myself. Another ironic twist. The Mischke Broadcast is taking calls right now, today, about people getting hit by cars. WOW. How weird is this?