Quote:
Originally Posted by Runner Coug
http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2...-hits-car.html
I was hit by a car in a crosswalk a couple of years ago. I started pounding on the hood and screaming like a madman. I was pissed. I'm just generally aggravated by people who ignore crosswalks. I have an unfortunate habit now of giving people the bird when they pull into the crosswalk and cut me off. It's only a matter of time before I flip off someone in my ward. 
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This just reminded me of a stupid little thing that happened to me following a track team practice back in my freshman year of high school.
It was a terribly rainy day and the parking lots and roads around the school campus were full of huge puddles. We're talking Lake Ontario big. As I was heading back to campus after running on the track, I saw a car tearing through the parking lot splashing water from the puddles on everyone that they could. As I got close to campus, all of a sudden they came roaring around a corner headed right for me. They had me right by the side of the road with a monster puddle right next to me. I had a visions of a Hawaii Five-0 type tidal wave crashing over the top of me and my massive 125 pound frame.
As I was already wet and not caring about getting more wet, but moreso not wanting to give them the satisfaction of drenching another victim, I instinctively jumped right into the middle of the one-lane road and also the puddle, which stood about 4 or 5 inches deep. The car had no other choices but to either run me over or stop. It came to a skidding stop less than 2 feet from me.
The car accupants, an upperclassman guy driver and two girl passengers, sat staring at me for several seconds until I took the 2 small hops through the puddle to the sidewalk. With them stopped, having no speed to splash me any longer, all they could do was hang out the windows, float me a few birds and call me every 4 and 5 letter name ever spoken. I matched their one-fingered salute with one of my own and went on my way, chest a little fuller and shoulders a little higher.
And as far as I can recall, that was the day that I went from being a quiet, reserved pimply-faced freshman to a quiet, sarcastic, pimply-faced freshman with a chip on his shoulder and an utter contempt for bullies of all ages and car types.