If someone were to ask me what my favorite memory of a bike ride was, I'd be able to tell them without hesitation the following story. Some of you have already heard it from me before...so if you are one of those folks, bear with me. For those that have not, here's how it goes.
One spring day in 2001, I was riding my bike near where I now live in Hutch. I was at the end of the ride, getting ready to head back home. I noticed that a car had driven alongside me, very close at hand, and was slowing down so that it was almost so close that I could have touched it. I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that whoever was in the car was rolling down the window. Out of the window came the barrel of what looked to be a gun. In an instant, I went from being scared to death that "this was it", to being totally soaked with water. The two guys inside the car were looking for people that day to spray "water blasters" on.
It caught me so off guard that I swerved on my bike and about laid it on its side. The two guys in the vehicle sped off but for some reason or another decided to stop about half of a block away and look back. I got their car tag and called the police. And here's where the "good part" comes in.
These two guys were not real "rocket scientists". Their car tag led the police immediately to the HCC parking lot by the boys' dorms. There, lying in the back seat, were two really nice water blaster guns. In their carelessness, they had left them in plain sight. It took a matter of only a few minutes before the police and HCC officials were able to find the two young men involved.
To make a long story "short", HCC Dean, Randy Myers, arranged a meeting between the two students and myself so that we could have a little "visit" with one another. The next day, I arrived at Randy's office and faced, for the first time, the two guys involved in this. It was so interesting to hear why they did it-they were out, obviously bored, and looking for people to spray water blasters on. They admitted it without hesitation. They saw me riding and thought since I was so little, that I must have been a kid. They said to the police officer, "We didn't know she was a teacher." I about came out of my chair and I looked them in the eyes and said, "You mean it's ok to do this to a kid, but not an adult? So, like, is it ok to do it at all?" I reminded them about how unsafe it was, that I almost wrecked my bike because of it.
I remember one of them asking the police officer what would happen to them because of it. And here's where the very best part comes in. The officer looked at me and asked me what I thought should happen. With a huge smile on my face I asked the officer if I could choose their punishment rather than them receiving a citation. He agreed without hesitation. I was able to come up with a plan that was a "win-win" one for all concerned....the two young men, myself, and my classroom of 15 1st graders. And it went like this....
Two weeks later, close to the end of school for the year, those two young men showed up at my classroom at Lincoln Elementary with boxes filled with brand-new helmets for each of my students. They also presented a lesson on bicycle safety for the kids and told them of the importance of taking bicycling seriously. It was ok to have fun but to always be safe when they were out riding around. They were only scheduled to be there for 30 minutes but ended up staying most of the afternoon talking with the kids. When they left, I gave each of them a hug and my forgiveness for their part in the incident. I heard from them later on, each doing fine. I'm not sure where they are today, but I doubt very seriously if either of them ever "water blasted" anyone else. Life is full of DO-OVERS and those two guys deserved to get one of them that day.
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