Running the Risk

Tropical Thoughts

Recently, I have been coming very close to serious injury due to motorized vehicles and my own two running legs. Today, in fact, I am sporting a lovely scrape on my right knee and shoulder from a tumble I took while running during my grade nine P.E. class.

There I was this morning, bouncing along, watching my footfalls carefully, when some idiot honked his horn. The oncoming car was nowhere near me until I tripped on the rocky ground from which I had just raised my eyes. Tumbling on a forward-right trajectory, I rolled onto the side of the road and actually contacted the tire of the oncoming car with my foot. The students running right behind me stopped, gaped, helped me up, and made several remarks about how "close" that was.

After this past Friday's run, I arrived home unscathed, at least physically. During that particular run, I came very close, twice, to being hit by purely ignorant drivers. They didn't bother to even glance in my direction before making their respective left and right turns. And of course, 'twas I who had the curse words fall on my ears.

I am quite frustrated by the lack of safe driving and of sidewalks on this island, but I suppose I will continue to "run the risk". Does that make me a true athlete, or just a stupid person?