I was 7 or 8 years old as I remember. My mother gave me some money and a note. She said "run up to the 7-11 and get me some cigarettes!" I didn't mind, it got me out of the house and I had 15 cents I had saved to buy some penny candy. I went out to our backyard to get my bike and someone had taken the rear tire and rim off it. My older brothers had a bad habit of helping themselves to my stuff! All I could find was another front tire in the heap of bike parts in the back yard. I did not want to walk all the way to the store and back. The trek to the store was up hill 1/2 way and down 1/2 way so I could coast down the hills, right? I bolted the front tire to the rear of my bike and set out. Smart? I pushed the bike up the hill then road it down the hill to the store. Being an older bike it had no front brakes and relied on the standard back brakes engaged by pressing backwards on the peddles to stop. With no brakes I used my shoe, well a rubber soled sneaker that is. I would simply shove my sneaker in the space between the top of the front fork and the front tire. I could control the speed by the amount of pressure I put on the tire. This seemed to work pretty good as long as I was going straight and not to fast. Smart huh? For a young boy, I was pretty good on a bike, not like the attention starved over-achievers of today but I could skid, jump, slide, bunny hop and fly with the best of them and I was smart! So there I was, small paper bag wrapped over the handle bar grip coming down the paved parking lot hill of the large apartment complex built behind our neighborhood, wind in my hair, bunny hopping speed bumps and "S" curving to control speed along with my shoe brake and all hopped up on penny candy. Small problem with my braking system though, if I pushed to hard or to long my shoe would heat up and start burning the bottom of my foot. I compensated this by watching my speed. Smart! I've taken this way home a hundred times so I had it all planned out, where to turn, where to slide, jump etc... Then it happened, I was coming around the corner were the hill got steep and a car came from nowhere cutting me off and straight down the big steep hill I went. I panicked. I shoved my foot hard into the wheel burning a hole right through the sole to my foot! Pulling my foot out of harms way my speed increased dramatically. My brain mapped out the coarse in front of me, curbs and sewer drains guard a 6 to 8 foot drop off to fenced back yards. On the other side we have parked cars and to the front was a sharp curve giving way to a 10 to 12 foot cliff and the back of a house. I slip deeper into my panicked state. Hopping the last speed bump I turned the bike to the right then kicked it to the left and laid it down on the blacktop. Let The Road Rash Begin! I left a flesh trail for about 10 feet until my bike jammed into a storm drain rag dolling me over to my left side. I kissed the concrete top cartwheeling through the air in a 8 foot free fall, clearing the chain link fence, thank goodness, and into a grassy backyard. I laid their for what seemed like forever, stunned and bleeding. I heard off to the rear, by the house, a growl. I looked over to see a large black Rottweiler about 30 feet from me and hell bent to welcome me to his home. I couldn't move. My body refused. My brain was on fire with pain! Oh Yeah, the dog! I sprang to my feet and dove back over the fence just out of reach only to be met by the thorny blackberry vines growing on the hillside. I was a mess but I was alive. I could not find my Mother's smokes! She is going to kill me.

Meeting Mr. Hurricane (story #1)

I sit here at 51(61 now) years of age thinking; what was the first thought I remember? It was almost my birthday, early July. I was 4 or 5 and my mother and father were talking about their day and I was eavesdropping, hoping they would reveal my birthday present. The phone rang and my mother answered and yelled to my dad to turn on the news. It was a hurricane!? I didn't know what that was but everyone was very excited about it. My mom said it would be here around noon today. I can remember thinking that this must be something great because everyone in the house was exited and was moving around gathering things, putting things in boxes and bags and suitcases. I got so excited too! Every time my grandma and grandpa or family coming to visit, they Always brought gifts! I wanted to see Mr. Hurricane before anyone else cause it was My Birthday and I just knew he had a wonderful gift for me! We didn't have much money with Dad in the Navy and 6 snotty nosed kids, the income only went so far. It was my turn to get a super present. So about 11 o'clock or so I went outside to meet Mr. Hurricane hoping that he was bringing me something for my birthday. Why else would everyone be so excited? Outside it was very windy and a little rainy. I didn't see anyone around, no cars going bye, no kids playing? But I heard what sounded like the pounding of drums down the road toward the beach. Boom Boom Boom! A parade? For me? We lived in Mayport, FL and my father was in the Navy.  Mr. Hurricane must be down at the beach, so off I went to greet him. Palm fronds were sailing past me and sand was stinging my ankles. In my haste to get my prize I did not put socks on, only my old Converse tennis shoes. The drums got louder, Boom Boom! and I could see the waves another block away and the wind and rain was getting very strong but still no Mr. Hurricane. Where is he? Where is everyone? For such a glorious occasion? I went closer to the beach and I could see now that the waves were making the noise. There was water on both sides of the road and the wind was so strong. Still no Mr. Hurricane but I knew I would find him up near the seawall with everyone celebrating my big day. BOOM BOOM! The sound of the drums was deafening. I walked the last 1/4 block to the edge of the wall and looked over. The beach where I played everyday was gone. I could only see water. Sea spray hit my face and burned my eyes. Wave after wave smashed the wall on either side of me. I remember the water shooting up in the air like a backward waterfall then stop and fall crashing all around me. I looked up and down the shoreline. Still no sign of Mr. Hurricane. I did see that much of the concrete seawall was missing up and down the coastline and some houses were getting hit by the waves. I was so disappointed by now. I walked the 4 or so blocks home. I went in the back door and up to my room. Just then my mother called all of us to get out to the car. Dad yelled, "We gotta go now!" We all got in the car and drove to a shelter. I never told my parents about that day. Many years later I realized how easily I could have been swept away. Someone must of had other plans for me?

This was only my first memory of cheating death.