The motorbike’s gear stick resisted the touch of my left heel. Normally the gear is shifted by the shoe toe. But polio left me with no upward “lift” so I
The motorbike’s gear stick resisted the touch of my left heel. Normally the gear is shifted by the shoe toe. But polio left me with no upward “lift” so I would improvise, moving my foot over and beyond the gear and lifting the lever with the back of my heel. But the tactic hampered the shift. Bringing distraction.
I raised my view and took in the sight of a car crossing before me from a side road. It was a safe distance ahead, but its image spooked me. I seized the front brake. It locked and I tumbled headlong and with no helmet onto Okmulgee’s Sixth Street pavement.
Mercifully a couple strangers transported my unconscious self out of harms way. I was lain face-down on a grassy lawn at the street’s edge and, after some moments, I stirred. Lifting my groggy, throbbing head, my view took in several pairs of shoes. The audience of half a dozen passersby were facing me in a semicircle near my head. It was then I heard the man’s voice suggesting something be done about my motorbike.
Someone helped me up.
“Thank you”. At least I could speak.
Another kind person steered me to a clinic a few steps away.
The doctor studied a place on my forehead. “That’s a real goose egg you have, young man.”
He shined a light in each eye, shared a cautionary remark and sent me on my way. For days following I pondered a few significant questions.
What Good Samaritan saw me to the clinic? Who covered the doctor’s visit cost (did anyone)?
Who retrieved my bike and what mercy-givers hauled me off the street and onto the grass? What unseen hand saw to it the goose egg on my noggin didn’t crack?
Warm feelings of gratitude rose from within. . . not to impersonal lucky stars, but to one who faithfully attends to the inattentive, the distracted.
Whenever I rode after that, my helmet went on. Distraction got traded for vigilance. For a while, anyway.
©2018 Jerry Lout
Writer-Speaker Jerry Lout schooled at Okmulgee’s Wilson Elementary, Preston High and O.S.U. Okmulgee. Jerry authored “Living With A Limp”, from which this piece is edited ( Amazon.com ). Additional narratives are posted on his blog at www.jerry-lout.com. He may be reached at jerrylout@gmail.com