ambulancechaser
i was leaving the house today, mostly just to drive, nowhere terribly important to go, the beginning of radiohead's set at bonnarroo this past summer just coming on the speakers. i got to the end of my street, not hearing anything over the music, and looked right in time to see a firetruck and an ambulance scream past, sirens blaring, lights flashing. it was sensational. a little streak of color and light blowing through a slow day. the gas tank light flashed on my dashboard and the trip computer automatically changed to the 'miles remaining' code. 25 more on this dying tank. the needle had been buried in the red for two days anyway. i look both ways and saw nobody else, watched the ambulance round the next corner, and took off after him.
we flashed through the countryside, the truck at one street graciously noting my speed and letting me pass before pulling out, i was catching up at each curve while the boxy trucks had to slow a little. i never knew just how fast they drove, but we were doing near 70 on roads even i never did more than 60 or 65 on. they must train the drivers well.
the deuce lit up the countryside. it was strange seeing all the cars pulling off so the three of us could get by. they ended up taking the turn onto jordan road, same as i was going to do, so following them some more was no big deal. i know there are stormchasers but i've never heard of ambulancechasers before. i felt dirty. morbid. sensationalist. i just knew they were watching me following them. what kind of person does that?
we flew past farms and fields, light curves and valleys. i looked back in time to see what looked like one of my old friend's former houses demolished. i couldn't tell, really. no time, though, the ambulance was gaining. i went through a mental inventory of the people i knew who lived out here. they turned onto brack penny. i couldn't remember whether chad lived out here or if it was another road. there was nobody else around so i slowed down a lot before i turned, waited. i wondered if the ambulance drivers were watching me following them. i wondered what this would be like if i lived here, if i was watching them take every turn i was about to make. how terrible? how horrible? 20 miles to go.
i'd never been down brack penny but i turned anyway. couldn't be that far. i might have driven the whole road just to look around if i had any gas left. i sped up to catch them. it wasn't too hard, the road being a bunch of soft curves. still, the turbo volvo can take them faster than the huge box trucks. radiohead wailed on. i think we had a chance to have them come this spring for springfest. that is... if there weren't a lot of college girls in charge of it. i guess i'll have to make do with the fray... shame shame.
the firetruck pulled into a subdivision; the ambulance followed; i followed. it was laid out like a bad golf course, all flat with no trees. we sped on through out in the open down to the last street. the main road dead-ended with a basketball goal while the last little side street went a few houses down to the left and into a cul-de-sac. i slowed again and watched them stop, then pulled a three point turn to go back out the main road. i watched them, wondering if they saw me idling along. wondering if they even cared. i stopped in the middle of the road when i was partially obscured by the first house, where i could still look out my right rear window and watch them all. nobody else was around.
they didn't look to be in too much of a hurry. the men opened the back of the ambulance and pulled out the stretcher, wheeled it around to the front door. some went inside. radiohead wailed. 15 miles to go. i looked around the place. it was a typical cheap-ish country subdivision. there wasn't much grass anywhere. most of the ground was crumbling dirt and sand. all this sand. it's either sand or red clay out here. the openness of the area with the bright sunshine made it feel hot even though it wasn't. the lack of landscaping and grass helped. it looked like a desert. everything cheap. just nobody around.
the emergency workers milled around. eventually they walked the stretcher around to the front door and lifted it up inside. i was nervous sitting there. never let my foot off the brake. not long after, they wheeled an old lady out the front door, carried her down the steps, and sat her down again. she was all wrapped up and couldn't move, looked like a straight jacket. you could just see her old face and white hair above it all. they pushed her on to the back of the truck, opened the doors, and slid her in. a schoolbus was coming down the road. it stopped a couple houses away and some children got out, one with the biggest 12-year old afro i've ever seen. they stuffed some stuff in the back and shut the doors. i didn't want them to see me. the schoolbus closed its doors and crept forward. the ambulance backed up a little ways and stopped again. one of the ems guys was standing behind it looking around. a guy behind me backed out of his driveway. i couldn't take it anymore and sped off, passing the school bus and the kids and leaving the car, the ambulance, and the firetruck behind.
when i got to the station, i was looking at 10 miles to empty. i think the needle's been buried for three days now.
...
in other news, there are no boxing gyms anywhere on my side of the city. damn. i'll have to figure something out. i daydream in the car that i'm a special breed. a lightweight with the reach of someone over six feet tall. i dream that it's a rare combination. i dream of next summer in bermuda and me with the body of a boxer. i dream of getting into fights and knowing what to do. that's confidence. someday.
we flashed through the countryside, the truck at one street graciously noting my speed and letting me pass before pulling out, i was catching up at each curve while the boxy trucks had to slow a little. i never knew just how fast they drove, but we were doing near 70 on roads even i never did more than 60 or 65 on. they must train the drivers well.
the deuce lit up the countryside. it was strange seeing all the cars pulling off so the three of us could get by. they ended up taking the turn onto jordan road, same as i was going to do, so following them some more was no big deal. i know there are stormchasers but i've never heard of ambulancechasers before. i felt dirty. morbid. sensationalist. i just knew they were watching me following them. what kind of person does that?
we flew past farms and fields, light curves and valleys. i looked back in time to see what looked like one of my old friend's former houses demolished. i couldn't tell, really. no time, though, the ambulance was gaining. i went through a mental inventory of the people i knew who lived out here. they turned onto brack penny. i couldn't remember whether chad lived out here or if it was another road. there was nobody else around so i slowed down a lot before i turned, waited. i wondered if the ambulance drivers were watching me following them. i wondered what this would be like if i lived here, if i was watching them take every turn i was about to make. how terrible? how horrible? 20 miles to go.
i'd never been down brack penny but i turned anyway. couldn't be that far. i might have driven the whole road just to look around if i had any gas left. i sped up to catch them. it wasn't too hard, the road being a bunch of soft curves. still, the turbo volvo can take them faster than the huge box trucks. radiohead wailed on. i think we had a chance to have them come this spring for springfest. that is... if there weren't a lot of college girls in charge of it. i guess i'll have to make do with the fray... shame shame.
the firetruck pulled into a subdivision; the ambulance followed; i followed. it was laid out like a bad golf course, all flat with no trees. we sped on through out in the open down to the last street. the main road dead-ended with a basketball goal while the last little side street went a few houses down to the left and into a cul-de-sac. i slowed again and watched them stop, then pulled a three point turn to go back out the main road. i watched them, wondering if they saw me idling along. wondering if they even cared. i stopped in the middle of the road when i was partially obscured by the first house, where i could still look out my right rear window and watch them all. nobody else was around.
they didn't look to be in too much of a hurry. the men opened the back of the ambulance and pulled out the stretcher, wheeled it around to the front door. some went inside. radiohead wailed. 15 miles to go. i looked around the place. it was a typical cheap-ish country subdivision. there wasn't much grass anywhere. most of the ground was crumbling dirt and sand. all this sand. it's either sand or red clay out here. the openness of the area with the bright sunshine made it feel hot even though it wasn't. the lack of landscaping and grass helped. it looked like a desert. everything cheap. just nobody around.
the emergency workers milled around. eventually they walked the stretcher around to the front door and lifted it up inside. i was nervous sitting there. never let my foot off the brake. not long after, they wheeled an old lady out the front door, carried her down the steps, and sat her down again. she was all wrapped up and couldn't move, looked like a straight jacket. you could just see her old face and white hair above it all. they pushed her on to the back of the truck, opened the doors, and slid her in. a schoolbus was coming down the road. it stopped a couple houses away and some children got out, one with the biggest 12-year old afro i've ever seen. they stuffed some stuff in the back and shut the doors. i didn't want them to see me. the schoolbus closed its doors and crept forward. the ambulance backed up a little ways and stopped again. one of the ems guys was standing behind it looking around. a guy behind me backed out of his driveway. i couldn't take it anymore and sped off, passing the school bus and the kids and leaving the car, the ambulance, and the firetruck behind.
when i got to the station, i was looking at 10 miles to empty. i think the needle's been buried for three days now.
...
in other news, there are no boxing gyms anywhere on my side of the city. damn. i'll have to figure something out. i daydream in the car that i'm a special breed. a lightweight with the reach of someone over six feet tall. i dream that it's a rare combination. i dream of next summer in bermuda and me with the body of a boxer. i dream of getting into fights and knowing what to do. that's confidence. someday.
posted by sunshine at 11:59 PM
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