Good luck not dying
A couple of days ago I was biking to work when a rare morning thunderstorm came in. I always carry my rain gear, so I was good for being dry. It is the lightning that bothers me. I was out there on the street with no cover, pedaling into the wind and rain at pathetic speeds as the flashes of light and thunder moved closer together.
When it started to get really harsh, a piece of lightning came very close to the corner that I was rounding, illuminating me and a morning jogger. As the jogger and I passed each other, I felt the inevitable thoughts that each of us was crazy for being out in this stuff, whatever the reason. Then she yelled out “Good luck not dying!”, and I was shaken into a fit of speed that pushed my legs and breath and concentration into full on fury.
It was great advice from one idiot to another, out in a brutal winter storm, cold wet faces blinking at each other for just an instant. Now those four words continue to echo and roll and rhyme in my head days later.
I recently celebrated my thirty-fourth birthday, not much of a milestone but still proof that I actually am having pretty good luck not dying. And I plan to keep that up.
4 Responses to Good luck not dying
January 13, 2008 at 3:07 pm
That is too weird that you’d write a post about riding in the rain.
On my way home just now, I was riding through some nasty wind, and was wondering, “Hmm, I wonder what Trace wears when he rides in the rain.”
Me, I’m slowly developing the tolerance to ride on wet streets, but I still won’t ride if water’s falling from the sky.
January 16, 2008 at 9:22 am
34 was a milestone year in my life – I feel like it was a real turning point in making significant good changes, even though I am still working on them!
January 16, 2008 at 6:30 pm
So I read this a few days back & the phrase is stuck in my head. I think I need to make a “Good luck not dying ” T-shirt. I guess in the end all of our luck runs out, but I am glad your luck held strong & hope it continues. Be careful out there…if its not the traffic, its the random forces of nature!
January 16, 2008 at 8:43 pm
I think that “Good Luck Not Dying” is going to be the subtitle for the Quitter book. I thought about using “I Am Not a Talker”, but the former sounds better to me.