Progress

I was born an asthmatic.  When I was a kid, my breathing was really f*cked.  I could barely move without running out of breath and I was even hospitalized on a few occasions.  There were a couple of times when my future looked pretty f*cking bleak.

Thankfully, later on in life, I learned to control my breathing a little better, finding that many (of my) asthma attacks were instigated by anxiety.  Sometimes, if I found myself without my inhaler, I'd feel panic overwhelm me, quickly followed by a heaviness in my chest.  Since then, I'm able to relax myself to a point where I'm able to breathe easy.

What I find outrageous, nowadays, is when I leave my house without my Salbutamol asthma inhaler, I feel fine.  Even if I'm only a block or two from my house, a distance close enough where returning to my house isn't an inconvenience of any sort, I seldom turn the car around.  Even when driving the convertible, where I'm more susceptible to elements like dust and pollen, I rarely return home.  However, when I'm out in the world and realize I don't have my cell phone, I almost come undone.

A few short years ago, I never saw the point of carrying a cell phone.  I was one of the last people to start carrying a cell phone and today, I feel f*cking lost if I don't have my cell phone in my pocket.  I'm even guilty of calling into work sick one morning, because I woke up to my cell phone with a dead battery, because I was afraid I'd have to talk to another human being on my coffee breaks.  How f*cking sad is that?  A few years ago, I didn't have a problem engaging in small talk, yet today I'm afraid to utter a single word.

My asthma inhaler is a definite instrument that can save my life if the chips are down.  I barely use my cell phone as a f*cking telephone, yet I feel completely lost and helpless if I don't have it in my pocket.  How f*cked is that?  I guess that's called progress.

Motherfreakin' Cessna

In recent weeks and months, there's been a brash of similar pictures like this one making their way to Facebook.  It almost seems like people are taking any crash photos of cars and tagging them with messages to "Stop Texting" while driving.  It is a valid message, I agree, and the more people recognize the dangers, the more apt they will be to resist the temptations of texting behind the wheel.

With the exception of this photo which promptly displays a sign posted at the site of this catastrophic car wreck, how does one know for a fact that all these accidents are the result of drivers "LOLing" while driving?  I'm sure there's a whole host of different reasons.

Years ago, I almost drove into a parked car because a CD case slid off the seat and I was trying to retrieve it, because: I just had to know the name of that song that was playing.  Nowadays, people have their MP3's and satellite radio, so no need for CDs.

More recently, I did meet with a close call.  I'd just finished re-fueling my truck and got in to begin my way home.  I'd barely left the vicinity of the gas pumps, when I heard a sound reminiscent of a plastic bag rustling in a breeze.  I turned my head to the right, towards the source of the unnerving sound and discovered a dragonfly that had somehow found it's way into the cab of my Honda Ridgeline.  This thing was quite large.  Without exaggeration, I'd estimate it's size was roughly the equivalent of a Cessna airplane.  F*cking huge!! Panicked, I slammed on my brakes.  I came to a screeching halt, the car behind me had to swerve out of the way to avoid rear ending me.  F*cker was following too close anyway, probably.  I leaped out of my seat, leaving the door open behind me, stammering at the prospect of what to do next, when suddenly, as stealthy as it had entered my vehicle, it flew out again.

Luckily, it happened in the secure confines of a parking lot.  If I'd have been on the highway, travelling at speeds of 100 or 110 km (60-70mph) and that f*cker had decided to go ape shit, who knows what might have happened?  Single vehicle rollover, most likely.  Ironically, when the police investigate such accidents, they rarely surmise that an insect may have been involved...

I never had my cell phone handy, so I wasn't able to snap a photo of this life-sized dragon.... fly, but if I had, I likely would have had an accident.

Moral of the story!  Keep your windows closed when refueling your vehicle, as you never know what creatures may be lurking.  And stay in school!  Typing "LOL" just makes you looking f*cking stupid!