Not the good way you say Oh Boy! when something great happens like someone giving you free Cherries Jubilee ice cream.
The Oh Boy! I refer to is the Oh Boy! you mutter when something bad happens like, well, like you just realized you got a flat tire.
Which is what I said to myself today as I was driving to The Warehouse.
One of the first things that came to my mind was Gilligan's Island:
For those not in the know, Gilligan's Island was a television sitcom that aired between 1964 and 1967 which means that when I was old enough to understand what was really happening on that deserted isle the show was already in syndication.
Now Gilligan was a likable lad, his only shortcoming was that everything he did to get those castaways off the island usually backfired and in the end his good intentions kept them from being rescued.
I sort of looked up to Gilligan.
More so than the Skipper or the Professor.
Mr. Howell was just too caught up in his wealth for me to relate to.
Of course there was Mrs. Howell, affectionately known as "Lovey," and there was Ginger and Mary Ann. Now I'm not going to get into the whole Ginger or Mary Ann thing; that's been debated over the decades and we all know who we would choose.
I mean it's obvious right?
Well, I wasn't really thinking about any of them, the main characters I mean.
The character that came instantly to my mind was a recurring character by the name of Wrong Way Feldman:
Now Wrong Way was a cool if not slightly devious character whose fault lay in the fact that everywhere he went, he got there by flying the wrong way.
If you have been following along at home, you may have noticed that I've sort of made a big deal of cyclists riding on the wrong side of the road; riding against the flow of traffic I mean.
So anyways, I was driving along and usually when I just drive around(DRA) I take notice of people on bicycles mostly because I'm interested in seeing what kind of bicycle they are riding. It was not odd for me to notice the guy the bicycle about fifty yards ahead of me riding on the sidewalk coming you guessed it! against the flow of traffic.
Well, I do this sometimes(ride against traffic I mean) so I can't really get all preachy about it. The thing is I am aware of the dangers this presents to me and other vehicles like say, cars.
Thing is, most drivers aren't looking to their right, they are looking to their left, at on coming traffic.
Well, before I could blink an eyelid, here comes this blue compact pulling out of a parking lot and before I could even think Oh Boy! all I saw was bike and person going airborne over the hood of the blue compact.
Scary stuff!
The dude on the bike stood up as I pulled over and asked him if he was okay. He nodded the affirmative, but I pulled over anyways to make sure. By then, the driver of the blue compact was out of his car and checking on the bicycle dude too.
What was said is probably typical of accidents like this:
Car Driver: "I never even saw you!"
Bicycle Rider: "I thought you saw me!"
Fortunately, the car driver wasn't some careless person rushing to get to Walmart before they ran out of ninety nine cent toilet paper and luckily the dude on the Roadmaster was a pretty big guy and not some old person making the run to Seven Eleven for a Slurpy.
So anyways, that's what made me think of Gilligan's Island and Wrong Way Feldman.
I guess I'll keep harping on cyclist going the down the road against the flow of traffic and I'll try to refrain form making those little indiscretions of the same sort.
I keep playing the scene over in my head and all I can think of is:
Oh Boy!
4 comments:
That wheel's gonna need a truin' up. (There's your problem). I think all cyclists probably salmon once in a while (including me). Most cars aren't looking for bikes at all though, let alone going the wrong direction, so you're asking for a taco and a superman whenever you do it. Also, it doesn't help our reputation with auto drivers when we flaunt the laws. On the other hand, with heavy traffic and a lack of cycling infrastructure, there are situations where it seems like a necessity, like getting to a crossing place where you won't get creamed by cars going 50 just trying to get to the other side.
I hear you. Most of the time, I travel against traffic to get to a safe crossing also.
Unlike that poor guy though, I never assume someone in a two ton cage notices or cares about me.
There's corner that I cross that I'm going to document for crossing there is life threatening.
To pedestrians and cyclists.
I enjoyed the post and the point well-made, but for some reason all I can think to say is how Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy!" really comes across as some kind of early, way out of the closet gay anthem.
All my love. All my kissin'! You don't know what you been missin'! Oh boy, when you're with me! Oh boy, the whole world will see that you...were meant...for me.
Dum diddy dum dum! Oh, boy!
Wow! haven't thought of that song in like eons.
Now that you mention Buddy Holly, you remind me that I have to find that James Taylor album with his cover of Everyday.
Now if any BH song sounds sort of gayish, THAT is the one.
Uh Huh.
Still, Buddy Holly rocks. At least his glasses did.
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