Two

2. Zigzag, First Person point of view, metaphor and simile


	My bike shot from the driveway onto the street like a rock thrown
from a slingshot.  I was in a hurry to get home from work, so I was
cutting corners and shaving seconds.
	I had glanced into the street before rocketing out onto it, and
did see a vehicle to my left, but judged it sufficiently far enough away
because of my speed.
	As I entered the street, I glanced to right and left to confirm
the safety of my entrance on to the street.
	The far lane was clear as I could tell from my glance to the
right.  But when I looked to my left, I knew I was in trouble.
	I had misjudged the nearness of the vehicle approaching in
the near lane.  Would I have time to get across the street?  Yes, I would.
However, I would not have time to slow down enough to make the left turn
that I wanted to make. My bike was an arrow moving straight across the
road. 
	I chose to delibertly go straight across the road, and not attempt
to turn.  I looked ahead to determine what I needed to do after crossing
the road.  There was a deep ditch just ahead of me. How deep was it?
Well, maybe not too deep; maybe about three feet deep.  And it was also
about three feet wide. 
	My bike was an unguided missile falling into the ditch.  I rode my
bike down into the ditch as if I was a cowboy riding a wild horse.  I held
on very tightly.
	I was unhurt.  That is, I was unhurt except for a slight bruise, I
won't tell you where.
	I looked back to see the vehicle pass me without slowing down.  I
wondered what the driver thought about the reckless kid on the bike that
had just had a wreck in the ditch.  Maybe he didn't even see me.  Maybe he
saw me, but just ignored me.  No matter.  All was well, and I could
continue my ride home.
	I lifted my bike out of the ditch onto the road.  Oops; the
handlebars were broken.  I couldn't ride it.  I would have to walk it the
rest of the way home.  Now I would definitely be late.
	After a couple of blocks I came to the main street.  
	A car pulled off the street near me.  It was my co-worker friend.
He asked me what happened.  I showed him the broken handlebars.  He
offered to give me a ride.  That would be great, I replied.
	We could not get the bike into the trunk. Maybe we can get it into
the back seat. Nope. The bike was a white elephant.  It just would not fit
anywhere.  
	While we were struggling with the bike, another coworker drove up
and stopped beside us. She drove a pickup truck.  "Hey you guys, may I
help you?"
	I turned and looked. "You are a light in the darkness", I said.
She smiled and the three of us put my bike in the back of her pickup
truck.  I waved goodby to my other co-worker buddy as we drove away.