Opt Out?
Think back to the last life changing or life altering decision you had to make, especially one that turned out badly. Did you ever fee like, prior to making that decision, you had the chance to get out of it? Every time I have broken some bones or had a nasty accident, I can think back to when I was being given multiple opportunities to get out of that situation. I know that sounds odd, but it usually comes down to either a split decision or a scenario involving multiple choices. Here are the instances that stand out in my mind the most. Funny, all of these involve two wheels...August 1999-Seattle: Jim and I were planning on taking the motorcycles to dinner. Cynthia had a cold and didn't want to ride. We went back and forth about whether we should take the car so we could all go, or take the bikes and leave Cynthia at home. Or, take the bikes out for a spin, then return home for Cynthia and head to dinner. We went back and forth over this minor issue for some time. As it turns out, we took the bikes for a spin, but upon reaching the third traffic light Jim realized that he'd forgotten his wallet in all the bustle. He turned at a light and I tried to follow, but ended up dumping the bike on a tricky low-speed maneuver and breaking my right collarbone.
October 2003-Texas World Speedway: It was day 2 of a track weekend at TWS with the F4i. I had been in group 2 (classroom shit) and decided to move up to group 3 (track only) at the start of the day. I was given the option to stay in Group 2 until after lunch, or at least until after Session 1, but instead decided to jump right in with the big dogs. I was approached by more than a few people about foregoing that decision, and 15 minutes later the F4i lay wadded in Turn 1 and I was (i have been told many times) lucky to walk away unscathed.
May 2004-Hallett, OK: Our motorcycle racing team, Fujiwara Tofu Shop, was at Hallett for a 4-hour endurance race. Having consistently set fast laps during Friday practice, we were discussing whether or not I should start the bike in that morning's race. I was running quick laps but had never started the bike. We went back and forth, weighing the good and the bad (speed, lack of experience, lack of working tach, nerves) and it was decided that I would take the dubious honor. At the start I brain farted (over-rev + too little/no clutch slippage) and looped the bike over at the flag. I took the weight of the bike on my left foot and suffered two very painfully broken metatarsels.
November 2004-Henderson, TX: After spending all day practicing with the recently rebuilt F4i at Oakhill with Sunny and Cathy, we went out for one last session of dog fighting. The sun was setting, the track was cooling and we were all feeling great. I started from the back and made my way past them both before pulling out a little and diving into the pits. I started to park the bike, then thought I'd go out for a little more play time and chase them down again. 8 laps later I was waking up on the outside of turn six. My left collarbone was broken, several ribs cracked and my hip felt as though it'd been shattered. Luckily, there was no major damage. The bike was, of course, completely destroyed.
September 2005-Dallas: Rain. Sun. Clouds. Lee, Daniel and I had planned on going mountain biking at Rowlett Creek, but heavy rain in the area put an end to any ideas about riding. LB Houston, however, was looking rather tacky with only a light rain the preceeding evening. We met at the trail after a fair amount of deliberation (back and forth all day) and I even took both my road and mountain bike to work with me in case I decided to go that route instead. We were starting our second lap when Daniel flatted only 100 yards down the trail. She decided to opt out of fixing the flat, and we pushed on to complete the lap. Sadly, I had many opportunities to not be on that lap. Three-quarters of a mile later I was laying on the ground assessing the state of my freshly broken leg.
I'm probably not doing them any justice, and there are quite a few other instances that are not springing to my mind (mostly because they did not require me to get surgery or spend lengths of time in slings and casts) but I think you get the idea. I am always able to look back and realize that I had an option, was given multiple opportunities to not do something, and overlooked it.
Now, the real brain burner: Is this a question of fate?
posted by GreSam @ 00:37
1 Your Opinion:
I had some time and I was just browsing through your blog... its an interesting question to ask, but in all of these cases, you did not know what the ultimate outcome was going to be. If you had known exactly what was going to happen, you probably wouldn't have done the things that you did. Either way, you're still walking, talking, breathing and eating on your own, so, everything turned out OK.
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