There was an article in the Collegian (Penn State's campus newspaper) yesterday about a guy who was talking on a cell phone and got his foot run over by a passing car. First of all, how do you get just your foot run over? That would be incredibly hard, even if you and the driver were cooperating--I don't know, I've always imagined getting hit by a car is an all or nothing event. Anyway, this particular running over of the foot resulted in both parties getting mad, fighting, and the driver ended up with his front teeth rammed up in to the roof of his mouth.
I tend to sympathize with the driver, even though pedestrians do have the right of way. I wish there was an acception to this rule, however, that stated "In the event that the pedestrian is injured while talking on a cell phone, no blame can be placed on the driver." Driving in State College terrifies me sometimes, especially downtown. This is not because of the cars or even the bikes. It is the pedestrians who are either drunk, stupid, making out, on their cell phone, or even all of the above, that make me drive down College Avenue (speed limit 25) at a breakneck speed of 10 mph, just so I don't run over these people.
Which reminds me of a story...
About two years ago, Dan and I went over to Bing's house to play cards, and bless his heart, Bing forgot to tell us that we had to park in the guest parking lot. We didn't think to even ask because the lot by Bing's apartment was virtually empty, and it was a Saturday night. However, towing companies here are very passionate and aggressive when it comes to doing their job, and as you can imagine, our little Delta 88 Oldsmobile got towed away. This cost us approximately 1/7 of what we paid for the car to get it back from the tower, so naturally, we weren't too thrilled about that.
This led to us experiencing our first bus ride in State College. It wasn't a football weekend, but it was Saturday at midnight, and thus, drunks abound. A couple got on the bus after us and began to make out (full body contact, and I mean every single body part) in the back of the bus. This is a lot more humorous when Dan adds the tongue choreography, but this will have to suffice for now. A group of even more drunk guys got on, and to our amusement, plopped themselves down in the seats surrounding the couple who were by this point bathing each other like kittens. No bother, though--the couple just kept going at it, while the guys around them giggled, snorted, jeered, and cheered. It got to be quite comical, but I think I would rather have been spared the image, because now, after almost 2 years after the fact, I can still remember seeing the guy's tongue ring and wondering how anyone's tongue could stretch that long.
Now that you've heard my version, be sure to ask Dan (in person) what his take on it was. I guarantee it, you will be amused...or repulsed...still ask him though.