Once upon a time...I just walked-out of The Bentley (my building), armed w/ my "new" Bose® "in-ear" headphones. I felt like a kid in a ear-candy store "re-discovering" my iPod tunes w/ a "brand-new" sound. As I approached the end of the sidewalk, I get a phone call from my boy and yanked the left ear-buds off just so I can talk on the phone. As I began crossing the street, I can subconsciously hear police sirens blaring but wasn't sure if it was the music or real-life?
Suddenly, as I near the fourth and final lane of a four-lane Parkway, I see a cop car to the right –speeding towards me! I literally froze then tried to step-back to avoid the police car but then I realized it was veering towards my backside! Like a football kick-off/punt returner, I started to duck n' dodge the police car in hopes of not getting hit but it seems as if the car was doing the same –swerving left then right and then slamming on the brakes –coming within inches of hitting my right leg! As agile & quick as I think I am, if the cop car didn't slam on the brakes and veer towards its right...I honestly think I would have been in a serious car accident!
After the "near-death" close call, I darted towards the safety of the sidewalk...I can hear the young cops "scream-out" profanities as I finally get onto the other side of the street w/ my phone frozen on my left-ear and headphones frozen in my right-ear. By now, I'm shaking like a 5-yr-old child watching a R-rated horror movie! The voice on the other end of the phone began "coming to" while the cop car was disappearing in the distance. That's when I heard an elderly man near the park screaming, "He almost got struck because he's on the phone!" My heart was pounding and I began stuttering...told my boy that pedestrians are yelling at me because I'm on the phone while listening to my iPod...didn't hear the sirens or see the cop car –as I unwillingly played chicken with my life w/ a police car!
And the sole reason for me telling you this story was because of the following video I saw on MSNBC about "Distracted Walking"...I can totally relate –unfortunately.
Man, distracted by phone, falls onto train tracks
A man is caught on camera as he falls off a train platform, distracted by his phone.
~The End~
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