Woman runs over kids with SUV; sues victims for $1.35 million

Sounds like the worst person in the world, right?  Only until you read the actual article Jezebel is on its high horse about and find out it’s a countersuit to the one the parents of the dead teen filed. Oh, and then you Google and discover that the police report concluded visibility of the cyclists was the main factor in the accident and that the prosecutor advised against filing charges due to no reasonable prospect for conviction.

Sorry, cyclists, but if you decide to go biking at 1:30am on a rainy night wearing dark clothing and you get hit, that’s on you. Even if this woman was stone cold sober and driving cautiously with a white-knuckle grip on the wheel, she still could have hit them. Because they were being stupid. Yeah, I said it- these kids are at fault for their own misfortune, and the parents are frankly nuts to be suing.

How do I know this? Because I’m a cyclist who also drives on occasion. And I’ve almost hit teenagers biking at night who apparently think the reflectors on their pedals are enough. Believe me, they’re not. The closest call I ever had, I never even saw the kid until he was already in my headlights testing my brakes. He thought all black on a dark night was fashionable and darting out from the sidewalk without looking was daring. I thought he was damn lucky not to be on his way to the ER or the morgue.

Cyclists, it sucks, but it is on you to make sure you’re as safe as you can make yourself. When I’m on my bike at night, best believe I am all about making sure car drivers can see me. There are lights. Lots of lights.  Lights on my bike, lights on my helmet, and I’ve toyed with the idea of wearable lights for me. If I had the cash, there’s an LED light strip designed for maximum visibility that I would love to have. (Note to self: find out if price on it has dropped.) There is reflective clothing- I will wear my reflective jacket at night no matter how hot it is, because I like not dying.

Because, dear cyclists, the sad reality is this- if there is an accident, you’re the one who will come off worst. You are not surrounded by multiple tons of plastic and metal designed to protect you in the event of a collision. You are the one who will experience the wonderful world of physics with nothing but the helmet you are hopefully wearing correctly protecting you. So try to do what you can to avoid it.

People in modern times have lives online as well as offline. Social media presence often outlasts us. I doubt a lot of surviving families give any thought in their grieving on how to handle the online life of the deceased. But sometimes it just gets creepy.

A cousin of mine recently passed away. Without giving too many details, let me say that he suffered from a degenerative disease, and we knew he was in the final stages. It was not sudden, or a surprise. He, like many of us, was on Facebook. He played Candy Crush. I know, because until he got too ill to play, we used to send each other lives. His account has not been shut down or removed from Candy Crush. Every once in a while, Candy Crush asks me if I’d like to give my cousin a life.

Man, do I wish I could.

Things other than crocuses and daffodils are starting to flower. Meanwhile, the oregano is celebrating its victory, having conquered basically the whole herb garden over the winter while everything else was busy hibernating/being dead.

There’s more of it, of course, but this is the most rampant patch (also the most photogenic, since part of what I was doing today was uncovering it- it’s been hiding out under a blanket of leaves most of the winter. So a lot of it needs a day or two in the sun to get its full color on.)

I’m totally setting out more oregano this year- it makes great ground cover. And it plays nicely with basil, which is another major component of my herb garden.