| Friday, December 21, 2007 |
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The most delightful thing happened to me the other day. I was driving into town on Memorial. I had just gone under the railroad tracks in the park and was about to merge with the Woodway traffic. There was a bicyclist on my left so I pulled to my right a little bit, into the middle lane, to pass the rider and allow him to you know, live.
Before I pulled to my right a little I had looked in my rear view and there was no one coming down Woodway. However, by the time I got over there was a big, pissed off Mercedes coming up my ass and it wasn't at all happy that my little zoomzoom was burning the same fossil fuels that it was. Not happy at all. It damned near took my rear right bumper off as it burned around me, and it roared off, up the hill and through the green light at the turn off to the jogging trail.
So. There I am, chugging through the park at my old lady 40s mile an hour (hmmm that IS the speed limit) zoomzoom, thinking, "Now why does he have to do that? What makes him think it's OK to tear through the park at 50 or 60 mph?" And he's so far gone - By the time I get to the first big curve, he's already out of sight.
So. I go around the curve and I see a glimpse of the light at the turn off for the softball fields. It's red. So I start thinking, "Man, I bet he didn't make the light." And sure enough when I got out of the curve and started to come up to the light, there he was, slamming on his breaks. I'm thinking, "What an idiot. That sure did him a lot of good. Joggers, bikers, animals, kids, all here in the park, he could have killed anyone just so he could hurry up here to the light. And here I am going to be right next to him. What an idiot."
So. I'm a little smug. I'm a little self-satisfied.
Then. THEN. FUCKING THEN!!!!
Out of the woods on the side of the road by the softball fields - I shit you not - comes an HPD officer on a magnificent tawny horse. The horse was gorgeous! Shining in the sun, his gait proud, the office sitting tall, doing a job he worked hard for the honor of having. Being a member of the Houston Police Department's Mounted Patrol is a real honor, and you could tell that this officer and this horse were really together that day. And oh, my goodness, I just cracked up laughing so hard - because this officer and this horse trotted right out of the woods and into the road and stopped broadside RIGHT IN FRONT of that big, pissed off Mercedes.
HAHAHAHA I couldn't stand it. I just laughed myself silly. The officer leaned down in his saddle to look right at the driver of the car and with one arm he did a sort of wind up and toss motion, making it clear (as if the two ton tawny pile of rippling horse flesh blocking the view wasn't enough) that Mr. Pissed Off Merc was going to be busy for a little while. It was priceless.
The Mercedes was in the middle lane. The driver in the right lane literally backed up a little so the Merc could pass in front - and the Mercedes crept over off the road in front of that horse - I swear it looked like a kid going to get a spanking. What a hoot. And that horse was flicking its tail, kicking a front hoof up here and there, tossing its mane, having a good time.
You know, we all complain that there's never a cop when we need one. This would have been really great if an HPD cruiser had shown up and popped its lights at this Mercedes. Or even if a motorcycle cop had buzzed out from behind a corner and motioned the Merc off the road. But for that huge, graceful horse and that skilled horseman to trot out of the woods and plant themselves sideways across the road RIGHT IN FRONT of that car, and then shoo it to the side like a bad puppy, that was magnificent. It made my day. Thanks, HPD!Labels: law, personal urban drama |
posted by Carol @ 11:56 PM  |
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AWE-some.