Tone Parsons

I sold my motorcycle yesterday.

We reduced the price and it was immediately snatched up by a guy who had been looking for that exact motorcycle (a Yamaha Royal Star Boulevard).  He took me to his bank and they gave me a certified check on the spot.

When he showed up around 4:15 to pick it up, I walked him through all the things he needs to know (how to check the oil, where the choke was, etc.).  I warned him that the bike is VERY heavy and to watch it on the corners until he got used to the mass.  Of course, he stalled it when he went to leave, and looked very shaky on it as he went down the street.  I hope he didn’t drop it on the way home (as there’s no way you can pick it back up by yourself!!).

It about broke my heart to see it go…. I loved that damn thing, but I can’t ride it anymore and there was no reason to keep it.

After he left, my neighbor came over to congratulate me on selling it.  We started talking about this and that and I told him that I was having someone remove the hedges in my front yard.  The guy who was doing it was in the other neighbors yard doing the same thing for them and was doing an excellent job.  I walked my neighbor over to show him and that’s when we found the landscaper face down in the dirt.

We ran over to him… he didn’t appear to be breathing and I couldn’t find a pulse.  My neighbor helped me roll him over and we started slapping him and yelling at him.  Suddenly, the guy took a deep gasping breath and opened his eyes.  I called 911 while my neighbor helped him sit up.

The guy was shaking and complaining about pain in his arm (oh shit!!).  He also begged me not to call for an ambulance because he didn’t have health insurance.  When the fire department and ambulance showed up, they checked him out and said that he’d live.  He had been working on the neighbors yard since 6:30 am and hadn’t eaten or drank anything since (it was pretty warm out yesterday).  His blood sugar was stupidly low, so my neighbor got him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I forced him to drink a bunch of water.

Of course, when my wife came home around 4:40…. she saw the fire truck and ambulance in front of our house and about freaked (she thought they were there for me).