The Day I Blinked

It seems that I have always been a daredevil at heart. There was never a roller coaster built that was too high, or too fast. As a young man just about any time I got behind the wheel of a car, there was going to be a test of man and machine. Forever etched in my memory are some of the more notorious stunts and a few of the lesser ones as well. Some we will not talk about, for fear of self-incrimination.

While in high school, there were many attempts to jump across intersections near my home. Then as I got more experienced, there was the night I took the S-curves out in the country on two wheels, and actually went straight down the middle with a perfect landing on the other side. Never was I to attempt that one twice. Guess I always considered once to be lucky and twice to be insane. In actuality, that one had nothing to do with skill or luck; I think the guardian angels were working overtime on that night. Nor can I ever forget the night I jumped completely across an intersection with a not so perfect landing that sent sparks flying into the air.

Then there was that awesome downhill curve on the way home. I figured out just how to slide through it and then exactly when to accelerate so that I reached, (I had better not say, but I have always loved C-notes) before my driveway every time. Guess ‘ol General Lee had nothing on me and my T-Bird, (just kidding). No wonder I kept getting fan letters delivered personally by the GSP. However, the real story begins long before I could ever reach the pedals of a car. In my neighborhood, the daredevils of Rosa Street reigned supreme, with exploits that would have made Evel Knievel himself proud. At least until the day I blinked.

On any given day, you always knew that some part of our outside play would involve a bicycle, some old boards, some concrete blocks, and or an old tree stump. With these, we would construct crude ramps. Not always was there a ramp involved, but more often than not, you could have bet your hat on it. As you can imagine where this is going, there was usually a dare involved as well.

We would dare each other to attempt these ever increasingly dangerous jumps on a regular basis. On some occasions, we would use those old boards to build a ramp in front of a wide ditch, just to see who was brave enough to jump across the expanse of it. One time I even remember making a ramp at the side of a creek just high enough to launch each of us bike and all into the creek, letting go at just the right moment to land safely in the water.

At other times, they would be set up on level ground, where there was plenty of room for speed. One by one, each would attempt to complete the jumps. Then we would change the height and angle as well, until someone blinked, or, as we liked to say, chickened out. There seemed no limit to what risks we would take just to prove our manhood. Most of the jumps were flawless, as each of us would jump and then land perfectly with the back wheel first. If you have ever made a front wheel landing you know that is something you would never want to repeat.

However, this one day the ramps got higher with each attempt and attrition was taking its toll, then I was the last man standing. This was my one chance to settle this score finally, and be the king of the street. The last ramp constructed was almost straight up, and in hindsight, was probably impossible at best. Even so, I proceeded to take a couple of practice passes just to figure out the speed needed to launch.

After getting my courage up, I peddled as fast as I could, shifting through each gear, my legs going as fast as they could, and with just enough speed, it happened, and time stood still as everybody watched in anticipation. Then I veered wide to the left and wiped out, hitting a neighbor and cutting his knee at the same time. Of course, all we did was sneak inside, take a few Band-Aids, and patch him up. Maybe the jump really was impossible, and then again, maybe it was not. Could a cut knee have been the least of the injuries? Reality is I will never know, because my one and only chance to prove who was the greatest on the street, I blinked.