I believe I'm going to park my moped for awhile. The last time I fell off my bike simply because I slipped on some gravel. This time it was a bit more serious.
I was going to meet Cindy for lunch on a beautiful morning a few weeks ago. As I approached a very busy intersection I noticed that although the light was green the traffic wasn't moving. I figured I had hit it at exactly the right time when the light was changing in my favor so I entered the intersection going about 25 miles an hour. Well the traffic was stopped because an ambulance was just entering that intersection too. Things happened very quickly now. He put on his siren, I reacted by grabbing my brakes, my bike stopped but I didn't. The next moment I found myself on the ground yet again gasping for air because I hurt.
Well the ambulance didn't have far to go. In just a moment the EMT's were there, the traffic was backed up and the police were getting my information once again. I am turning into a terror on the road. This time I refused a ride to the hospital. I have no broken bones that are evident but man am I sore. I'm popping Percoset pain pills and relearning how to dress myself. I picked up my shoe & cell phone from the middle of the intersection & called Cindy. She had been waiting for me to join her from lunch. She had the right question when I told her I was in an accident though. She asked if I was hurt.
I believe I'm going to park my bike for awhile. Perhaps a long while.
One thing I remember thinking about just before the accident was the death of our friend Wayne Morrow. Wayne was a member of our last church in Mukwonago, WI. I had just read the email informing us of his sudden death. Wayne was about my age.
It was such a shock. Later his wife Ann contacted me & asked if I would preach at Wayne's funeral on Thursday evening. After clearing it with the new pastor at VLC and talking it over with Cindy I accepted the invitation. I was honored to be asked. Normally pastor's do not return to their former congregations to do these kind of things because it can undermine the ministry of the new pastor. In this case the new pastor had no problem with it since he was so new and I had a relationship with the family so I agreed. I hope it doesn't cause any problems in the future.
Anyway I took my sore body to El Paso on Wednesday & flew to Milwaukee. The funeral was on a Thursday night and then right away on Friday I flew home. It was very nice seeing old friends again and being back in the pulpit I had filled for nine years. Although it was nice it is no longer our home so I was happy to get back.
My bike now sits untouched in my garage. I'm going to make sure it starts up okay but beyond that I'm not sure. I discovered my limitations during my two accidents and I still need to process what I learned. After my first accident I was extremely careful of lose gravel. After this accident I don't know if I can trust my ability to stop quickly when the need arises. I don't really want to be done since riding gives me so much joy but I have to keep in mind that there are a lot of things I still want to do and I don't mend so quickly anymore.
Shalom
