Cannonball Run 2006

September 12, 2004 8:05 AM

I'm lying face down in the middle of the road. My
(formerly) beautiful gray Vespa GT200L is lying on its
side next to me. I flash back to

February 28, 2004 Time Unknown

I'm lying on my back in a hospital bed. My surgeon's
face is hovering in front of me. A routine 2 hour
surgery on my spine has gotten "complicated." The
doctor is tying hard to supress the concern in his
voice, but everybody in the room can hear it.

"Mr. Smith, can you try to wiggle your toes?"

"MumbleMumbleMumble"

I flex my toes and everybody in the room breaks into
applause.

*****

I'm lying on the ground learning to breathe again. The
cool morning mountain air tastes wonderful. I gulp big
lungfulls of it down and clear my head. A little voice
in the back of my mind says...

Mr. Smith, can you wiggle your toes?

I give it a try and it turns out that I can. I can't
move my left thumb, but that's life. I pick up the GT
and race after Greyhound. How can he be so fast on
that bloody little Bajaj? I never catch him, but he
waits up for a me a ways down the road.

I ride up and Greyhound says, "You okay?"

I can wiggle my toes. Let's go...

# posted by jrsjr @ 9:08 AM