Impulsive
Parents today would find it hard to believe that I was allowed to ride in the back of my Daddy’s pickup truck even as a young child. Looking back, I find it hard to believe myself. But I did; and never had a mishap, except for once. I was sitting on the tailgate looking down on the road as Daddy drove. I became mesmerized. The road appeared to be moving, not the truck, and the road looked smooth as glass. I just couldn’t help myself. I had to touch the road! I made sure Mama and Daddy’s heads were straight ahead. I held onto the chain on the tailgate, and lowered myself until……..my big toe touched the ground. It damn near ripped it off! Oh my God! What am I going to do? They will kill me if they see my toe. I hung my toe off the truck, careful not to let any blood get on the truck. Since the damage was on the underside of my toe, I learned to walk with it sticking up and just kind of hid out until it healed.
Years and years later, I was standing on the corner at Five Points in Atlanta. A Marta bus was turning the corner. The big wheels were moving slow and effortless. I became mesmerized. I had an urge to stick my foot under the tire. Then I thought about my toe……………
There are two Georgias-- Atlanta Metro and the rest of Georgia. I am a voice from the "Other Georgia." As a self-avowed liberal Democrat, I write my views in a folksy, southern, humorous style. I write an opinion column in the Monroe County Reporter. Read the columns here.
I learned the meaning of centrifugal force when I sailed off the back of the pickup on the dirt road. I also found out that if you're standing in the back of the pickup, the truck will not drive out from under you if you jump straight in the air.
ReplyDeleteGee, I thought I was the only one that wondered about that.
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