I have the same exact conversation every time I am at the pump filling up my speed bike next to an older woman. They are always older too, not yet grandmothers, but not mothers anymore either. I guess they need someone to baby.
The conversation always, without fail, goes exactly like this:
Her: Do you feel safe on that thing?
Me: Absolutely. [taps helmet] Besides, I'm an excellent driver.
Her: It's not you that you have to worry about, it's those other knuckleheads out there.
Me: Tell me about it.
Her: You've only got that one headlight, so they just don't see you.
Me: I just pretend I'm invisible. That way I'm never suprised when someone does something dumb.
Her: There are so many bad drivers out there.
Me: You know, when the cell phone law first came out I thought it was stupid, but every single near-accident* I've been in was with someone holding a cell phone to their ear.
Her: [shaking her head] Well let's hope they all stay "near" and you don't get in any accidents. Be safe out there.
Me: Thank you, I appreciate that.
And I genuinely do appreciate that. It's really nice that people can be so caring. That this woman who knows nothing about me can be so genuinely concerned about my safety makes me feel really nice about humanity in general, something that happens oh-so-rarely.
* Why do people say "near miss"? If you nearly missed something, then you didn't miss it. You hit it.
