And I thought MY jokes were bad.
Almost a year to the day after Daniel got hit... I got hit by a car.
I was in Chicago, and we were going home from downtown. For some reason the bus was only going as far as Pulaski, so we got off there and were going to walk the rest of the way back. It was a green light, and we had the walk signal, so I started crossing. My hood was up, so I didn't see him coming, and I didn't hear him either because - seriously - how am I supposed to know which car sounds out of the constant cacophony in Chicago are significant? So he hit me as he was making the right turn. From my perspective, it went something like this:
WHAM! Ow, that hurt! Why aren't my legs working properly? Oh my god, I'm getting hit by a car. I'm still on the car. I should get off the car. I don't want to get my legs crushed by the wheels. I'm going to fall that way. Ouch! Okay, tuck! Oh look, here's Daniel. And there goes the car.
Fucker actually sped up while I was on his hood. Fortunately, Dan had the presence of mind to get his license plate number so we could report him to the police, which we did. Turns out the dumbass was registered as living only a few blocks away! So the cops asked if we wanted to go along and see if we could find the car. After a bit of looking, we found it. Though I didn't see any dent from where I got hit, the plates matched and so did the description we gave. (I got the color right, which I was proud of.) And it was obvious the car had been driven recently, since it wasn't covered in snow like all the other cars. So the cops called in a tow truck to haul it away.
Take that, asshole.
We also filed a police report, and they said I should hear from the detectives on the case in the next day or two. I hope they throw that fucker in jail for at least a little while.
Injuries-wise, I think I'm okay - obviously better than Dan was when he got hit. My left side's all sore, and I'm going to see the doctor in a few minutes to make sure it's nothing more than some bruises. I didn't go to the hospital that night because I wasn't sure if my insurance would cover going to a hospital out-of-state, considering I didn't seem badly hurt other than being banged up a bit. Also, I was tired and cold and wet and I just wanted to go home.
When the police asked me if I wanted to call an ambulance, and I said no, they asked me if I'd hit my head. I told them I hadn't, and one of them said, "That's good because that's when people get in real trouble after getting hit by a car - when they hit their head. Because their brain swells up, and they can get brain damage, but if you go to the doctor they'll actually cut away a piece of the skull and make the swelling go back down."
"Wow!" said Dan. "I'd really hate for something like that to happen to me!"
The policeman was oblivious.
Then, when I came back to Madison, I discovered that Feivel had died. :( I'm not sure why, since she had food and water. I imagine it's just because she was old. At least she didn't get a giant tumor like her sisters did.
I buried her in the snow by the bushes behind my building.
I was in Chicago, and we were going home from downtown. For some reason the bus was only going as far as Pulaski, so we got off there and were going to walk the rest of the way back. It was a green light, and we had the walk signal, so I started crossing. My hood was up, so I didn't see him coming, and I didn't hear him either because - seriously - how am I supposed to know which car sounds out of the constant cacophony in Chicago are significant? So he hit me as he was making the right turn. From my perspective, it went something like this:
WHAM! Ow, that hurt! Why aren't my legs working properly? Oh my god, I'm getting hit by a car. I'm still on the car. I should get off the car. I don't want to get my legs crushed by the wheels. I'm going to fall that way. Ouch! Okay, tuck! Oh look, here's Daniel. And there goes the car.
Fucker actually sped up while I was on his hood. Fortunately, Dan had the presence of mind to get his license plate number so we could report him to the police, which we did. Turns out the dumbass was registered as living only a few blocks away! So the cops asked if we wanted to go along and see if we could find the car. After a bit of looking, we found it. Though I didn't see any dent from where I got hit, the plates matched and so did the description we gave. (I got the color right, which I was proud of.) And it was obvious the car had been driven recently, since it wasn't covered in snow like all the other cars. So the cops called in a tow truck to haul it away.
Take that, asshole.
We also filed a police report, and they said I should hear from the detectives on the case in the next day or two. I hope they throw that fucker in jail for at least a little while.
Injuries-wise, I think I'm okay - obviously better than Dan was when he got hit. My left side's all sore, and I'm going to see the doctor in a few minutes to make sure it's nothing more than some bruises. I didn't go to the hospital that night because I wasn't sure if my insurance would cover going to a hospital out-of-state, considering I didn't seem badly hurt other than being banged up a bit. Also, I was tired and cold and wet and I just wanted to go home.
When the police asked me if I wanted to call an ambulance, and I said no, they asked me if I'd hit my head. I told them I hadn't, and one of them said, "That's good because that's when people get in real trouble after getting hit by a car - when they hit their head. Because their brain swells up, and they can get brain damage, but if you go to the doctor they'll actually cut away a piece of the skull and make the swelling go back down."
"Wow!" said Dan. "I'd really hate for something like that to happen to me!"
The policeman was oblivious.
Then, when I came back to Madison, I discovered that Feivel had died. :( I'm not sure why, since she had food and water. I imagine it's just because she was old. At least she didn't get a giant tumor like her sisters did.
I buried her in the snow by the bushes behind my building.