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A story I found on another board...

Would the short version be something like... "wheelies are stupid, don't do'em... especially with no gear of any kind on your body." ??

Unfortunately I teach a lot of high school kids who could easily end up in a similar situation... they really don't think anything can hurt them.

-Michael
 
No words.

Some tears.

And wondering if he wasn't meant to be there at that time, for that reason...
 
:tab Wow. This guys lives what I aspire to. He could have taken a harsh view of the kid and had no compassion for him, after all, didn't he get what he deserved for doing something so stupid? Instead, despite the rider's reckless behavior, he stops to tend to him, thinking not of himself but only of the injured rider.

:tab It is so easy to take a self-righteous perspective when viewing the behavior of other people. Yet, it is when these people suffer the consequences of their behavior that we have the greatest opportunity to reach out to them, not to berate them or mock them, but to help them from a point of sincere compassion. Some may refuse our advances nonetheless, for others, it may radically change their lives, and possibly our own ;-)

:tab I can only hope that I may do so well if I stand in a position as this writer found himself.

Adios,
 
Tourmeister said:
I can only hope that I may do so well if I stand in a position as this writer found himself.

+1

Anyone on the Chain Gang board have the guys email? I don't want to join yet another board but I'd like to drop a note..
 
As a father with a young son who is likley to be raised around motorcycles, I would expect that by the time he is in his late teens, he will have learned responsible riding habits.

I wonder if the young man grew up riding or bought his first bike at 19?
 
In situations like that, few witnesses or bystanders ever get past the horrific injuries and the fact that someone is obviously critically injured. The cause is seldom important in these cases, people act admirably most of the time unless they were the cause.

Completely different from someone who is obviously injured, but nowhere near death. If they were behaving irresponsibly, many witness feel they got what they had coming to them, and see it as their just reward. A small percentage will still overlook the act to help with the injuries.
 
Very sobering. It makes you think about the risks you take and the toll it might exact on others if things go wrong. Sure, that kid suffered horribly, but a lot of innocent bystanders were also seriously traumatized, not to mention the agony his family and friends are having to endure right now, knowing that he was literally flayed alive before he died.

I'd wager that none of us on TWT would ever do a stunt so blatantly stupid as that, but there are times we all take chances that perhaps we shouldn't. It makes you think.
 
Wow that's very moving. It makes me sad when someone loses their life and frustrates me to no end when people think they are invincible. Bad things can happen to anyone and everyone, unfortunately.

I wish those guys (and girls) who think they just can't be hurt could read this with the maturity to know that anyone can die in a matter of seconds.

Unfortunately, I think, those that think that way do not have the capacity to read the story and be moved as most of us are.

Kim
 
I could swear I read that before but it had a different author and the content was just a little different.

Call me cynical.
 
10-95 said:
I could swear I read that before but it had a different author and the content was just a little different.

Call me cynical.

I dont know about that, 10-95. :huh: The author looks like a pretty legit poster on that BMW F650 board. I went back and checked out some of his previous posts. He is a very talented wordsmith! :clap

I'd go all in on the bet that it's a true account. :-(
 
I sent him an email, and got a response that indicates it's either real, or he's a heck of a faker...

It's hit me on several counts.

As a Dad, do I have the right to take unneccesary risks? Which ones are neccesary? The departure of the UberHawk (do I need a new screen name?) was largely to remove the temptation of the right wrist and tip the odds towards long term survival. Should I do more?

I love giving my son (and daughter) rides around the yard on the XR, the Zuma, heck, even the lawnmower. Viewed through the lens of this story, getting them used to wearing a bike helmet before we go putting around the yard doesn't look like kowtowing to the wife at all. It looks like getting them used to wearing gear before a ride can't start to early. Will they understand why I've kept my old Bell with the scratched chin bar for 35+ years by the time they see it? Or will it be just another old peice of junk the kooky old man keeps around?

Most of all, I can't shake the image of that young man's father getting "the phone call". And I fear one of those myself.

This is what happens when I don't get sleep for a week, I get all philiosophical and fearful. Without drinking :-(
 
That's a tough issue... As a parent, do you:

a) avoid motorcycles completely... sell them all, never expose your children to them, NEVER allow them to have one.... then wait til they move out on their own and go straight to the fastest 600 or 1000cc bike they can get their hands on and using their dare-devil invincibility, end up like this kid did?

or

b) keep your bikes, let them grow up around them, teach them on dirtbikes, let them have a little 250 street bike when they're 16, and HOPE that you instill a level of respect/fear that will keep them from doing something this stupid, because they will know the graphic details of what happens and they will know their limitations based on their previous years of riding... .... or would the opposite happen and their years of experience will translate into their minds as being highly skilled ("mad skilz")... and then their 18-year-old invincibility mode kicks in?....

I'm glad I'm not a father of a teenager. It's tough enough teaching them at school. When I was talking to these kids about the motorcycle I was looking at, they kept ribbing me about why I didn't get a GSXR1000 or something similar, since that's the bike that they had every intention of buying in the near future. I fear for those boys.

-Michael
 
I have to agree that's a tough call for a parent to make. At first I was going to point to the way I was raised around firearms, and thus grew up knowing enough that I managed not to shoot anyone the first time I got my unsupervised hands on one.

On the other hand, I'm not surrounded by idiots "trick shooting" to show off for the unsuspecting general public. You don't see anyone cruising down the street suddenly whip out a pistol and empty a magazine into a stray Dr Pepper can. I guess part of the difference is tha complete lack of bad influences on me regarding guns when I grew up. Had I been surrounded by those kinds of influences, I might have handled guns differently when I was at a more impressionable age. With motor vehicles, these young folks have those kind of influences all around the minute they get out of their parent's driveway, no matter how many wheels they're on. I did things at that age on 4 wheels that would have killed me on only two, and at the time it was easy to make the decision to do so. In retrospect, I'm probably lucky to be here. The question is, how do you teach them that perspective before it's too late?
 
When reading Uberhawk's comments, I was thinking along the lines of firearms like Sleepy Weasel. However, there were plenty of kids whose parents gave them firearms without the instruction. They did stupid things with the firearms. Some where hurt. A few were killed. More came very close to death.

I also thought of water skiing, driving, motorcycles, etc. Same story, especially when combined with easy access to booze.

What is the point? In all instances, my father was an appropriate model of the behavior he demanded of us boys. Were we perfect? Nope. Where we lucky? Yep. However, we did temper our behavior just enough to give luck a chance to save us. We just seemed to know where to draw the line.

So to Uberhawk, you stay after those children of yours and pay careful attention that you be the example (at all times) of how you want them to be. They will be watching very carefully. If you live the example, they will listen. If you do not, they will not. And a lot of prayer helps.
 
:tab I chose option B for almost everything.

:tab There is just no way that you can shield a child from everything! So for many things, it is best that you guide them through the experience. Hopefully, your relationship with the child will be such that they will value your guidance.

:tab There will still be things though that the child simply should not be exposed to, if at all possible. Contrary to what the general media would have us believe, children DO NOT have the ability to use proper judgment when making some kinds of decisions (Of course, many adults aren't much better :roll: ) This is why young children should not be allowed to see graphic movies, engage in sexual relations, and so on. Children simply lack the proper context to incorporate these things into their lives without serious risk of lasting physical or psychological damage. These are the issues that concern me far more than things like whether or not to let them ride bikes or shoot guns.

:tab I worry more about whether or not I will do a sufficient job of teaching my child how to think clearly and critically about issues. I worry whether she will learn many lessons BEFORE any damage might be done. We can't be there every moment watching over here and I want her to be able to exercise good judgement in our absence. I want her to be able to exercise self discipline so that eventually we won't have to use discipline on her. Like Kent said, I think that despite all my best efforts, there is so much beyond my control that the best thing is LOTS of prayer.

:tab I really feel sorry for this kid in the story and his family. He was doing something really stupid because he lacked good judgment regarding the appropriateness of his behavior under the circumstances and it cost him and his family dearly.

Adios,
 
I think the best you can do is try to teach a kid not to do stupid things for ego or peer pressure's sake and hope it's enough.

My folks did a good job of that for me, and even though I was pretty much a juvenile delinquent thnking for myself and being too smart to do the stupid things my peers did I know has saved me from many injuries as well as time in the pokey.

Having a friend die in my arms at 17, and having to go tell his mother after the ambulance took him probably had a serious effect as well. I still see those pink bubbles clearly and the cold clammy feeling comes back whenever I remember it even almost 30 years later.

As well as watching a friend go down the road with a broken collarbone from a 4th gear wheelie get off and having to deal with him.

My hats off to paramedics and cops, I couldn't look at that stuff regularly and maintain my sanity. I really never want to see a person dying of an injury again in my life.

Maybe send your son or daughter off to ride with an ambulance crew on a few Saturday nights would do it.
 
Dyna Sport said:
Maybe send your son or daughter off to ride with an ambulance crew on a few Saturday nights would do it.


It's an experience I will not forget. One fatality the night I rode along with txmedic... :-(
 
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