Maria Says, "P is for Park People!"

Meet Humane Society of Charlotte property Fraser(snoozing) and Balsam.  Within the context of this image, these two baby Boxers appear more cute than is physically possible.  However, there has been no trick photography or photo shop work done on the picture, the pups are actually that cute.  This brother and sister pair stayed with us for a two week foster over the holidays and are now back at the HSC, ready for adoption.   

On the drive home after dropping the babies off, I got held up at a stop light on HWY 24/27.   While sitting there still I noticed an out of the ordinary movement to my left, the object was coming towards me.  I looked in that direction and saw a small car rolling out of the gas station parking lot and into the right lane of westbound traffic.  The driver of a small green on coming car hit the brakes, and then swerved right around the back of the unmanned auto just barely missing it.  That must of gave him a woody feeling all over.  The ghost driven vehicle kept coming slowly, but definitely for the middle lanes causing at least two other drivers to brake hard and go around.  When the free rolling car's front wheels hit the cement center island, the car bounced a bit, then starting rolling backwards towards the gas station it had came from. 

By this point I was able to free my eye phone camera from the inside pocket of my messenger bag which was behind my seat.  I took these two pictures as the car was rolling back towards the sidewalk.  The car owner, whom I suspect had run in to pay for the gas when the car initially rolled away was now chasing down his property.  Off camera, he jumped in and safely maneuvered his rig back into the station's lot.  As scholar Grant Baldwin noted about this incident, "Everyone was unscathed, it sounds like. Ah, the fine line between hilarity and tragedy."  How true.  From the perspective of a cycling pedestrian who travels that shitty corridor almost daily, I have been once again reminded of the inherent dangers of powering through our victory society.  Be careful out there folks, auto viper people seem to be in a big hurry these days, and it is costing them more than ever before.