He was cruising down the road, on his way home from work. He was behind a car on a flat, straight road. He was probably thinking about cashing the paycheck he had in his back pocket, or maybe where he was going to go out with his friends that night. Before he had time to think another thought, he was lying on the ground in a huge pool of blood. No one that he could recognize was around him. There was a red Volvo sitting in the middle of the road. His motorcycle was smashed to pieces. The Volvo had turned left in front of him. He was unable to move. He woke up at the hospital. His mother standing near him. The paramedics had told her that they did not turn the lights on in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, as they didn’t expect him to make it there. There was an enormous, gaping void in his neck, all that was to be seen was the jugular vein. His arm was/is paralyzed. He has regained some movement in his arm, way more than what any of the doctors had anticipated. But the scar that remained was far worse than what any physical wound would bear. The thought that when you had children, would you be able to do the things any other father would be able to do? Why would any woman want to be with me, I am not the same as other men? The driver of the Volvo said he never saw the man on the motorcycle.

The story told above is a true story. The accident that occurred happened a bit over ten years ago. The man on the motorcycle is my husband. I will tell you that he is not the same as other men, he is better. He is a very sweet, compassionate, strong-willed person. This world would not be the same had that accident taken his life. I would not be whole, my children would not exist, and his wonderful mother I would never had met.

PLEASE, always, always look twice. Keep your ears open and your eyes peeled…bikers are people, too. People I love very much. Granted, had the driver of the red Volvo seen the man on the motorcycle, I would never have met, fell in love with, or married the love of my life. Things always happen for a reason, and maybe the reason for my husband’s accident was so that the events could fall right for us to be together. Maybe it was so that he could spread awareness so that one less person would be in the same position he had been in. That is something we will never know. I found this poem, if you will, on the web today…I saw it as inspiration for this post.

I saw you hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But you didn’t see me put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.

I saw you pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But you didn’t see me playing Santa at the local mall.

I saw you change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But you didn’t see me attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.
But you didn’t see me driving behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But you didn ‘t see me when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you stare at my long hair.
But you didn’t see me and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves.
But you didn’t see me and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.

I saw you look in fright at my tattoos.
But you didn’t see me cry as my children where born and have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But you didn’t see me going home to be with my family.

I saw you complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But you didn’t see me when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.

I saw you yelling at your kids in the car.
But you didn’t see me pat my child’s hands, knowing he was safe behind me.

I saw you reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road.
But you didn’t see me squeeze my wife’s leg when she told me to take the next turn.

I saw you race down the road in the rain.
But you didn’t see me get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.
But you didn’t see me trying to turn right

I saw you cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But you didn’t see me leave the road.

I saw you waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But you didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.

I saw you go home to your family.
But you didn’t see me. Because, I died that day you cut me off.

I WAS JUST A BIKER. A person with friends and a family. But you didn’t see me.