Racing
Not long ago I left a blog entry that said I might join the racers who rocket past our house most nights if it were not for the grace of God. I remember hanging out with friends in parking lots after hours just for something to do. There are so few free things where young people can hang out late at night. Some cities have lowered crime rates inside the inner city by having well lit basketball courts open all night. All people want is a place to talk to their friends an flirt with the desired gender.
Last night, Saturday evening, a group of the racers gathered in the fish market place across the street from our house. Nat and I called the police because they were openly smoking pot and playing the boom-boom music too loud. Remember, this is 1:00 in the morning. When we hung out, we did not drink. We did not do drugs. We did not play music louder than we could sit in the car and listen too. We sat around and talked.
Friday evening, Nat and I came home late from a movie to find a collection of emergency vehicles near our home on 1093. We walked over after dropping off the car at home and spoke with one of the witnesses. There was a crash. A young man had died after loosing control of his car and smashing into a utility pole.
Nat and I sat on a parking lot curb and watched as people turned around. The entire street was blocked off. The police investigators ran some speed break tests where they get up to speed and slam on the breaks to test conditions of the night, like humidity, temperature, weather, road conditions and so on. The officer accelerated and then screeched to a halt two times. When the tow truck passed us, headed to some yard where cars are stored, it looked like more than one car in a pile of parts. For all I know there may have been more than one car.
Nat could feel the young man's spirit wondering. I feel for his family. I feel for his friends. I cannot help but think that could have been me if I were not held back. "Reason for all things" keeps winding through my head.
We also ran into an old friend of ours named Donny from that same CB group I spoke of earlier. He was one of the tow truck drivers on the scene. Small world. He was one of the people who just hung out.
Yesterday a crew was working on the pole the young man hit.