That 3 A.M. Phone Call

Back when we had a "hard-line" phone, you could at least pray it was a wrong number.
Cell phones have narrowed that likelihood to nearly zero.
Now when that little irritator wakes you, your heartrate doubles as you reach for it.

Sara Jean had run her phone completely dead, so it was OFF and being charged downstairs.
He tried to call her phone three times before he dialed me up.
I ALWAYS leave my phone downstairs because she ALWAYS has her phone upstairs within arm's reach. That's how we found ourselves with both devices downstairs.

0300 hours. My phone rang.
I knew it was my phone because my ring tone is Guns and Roses "Sweet Child of Mine".
Drowsy, I ignored it.
It stopped ringing, then IMMEDIATELY rang again.
Again, I ignored it.
When it instantly rang again I rolled outta the sack and went downstairs to grab it. (See "heartrate" comment above).
"Dad, I wrecked the bike."
Okay, now I'm AWAKE. Thankfully, he doesn't sound like he's in a great deal of pain...
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm a little banged up, but nothing serious."
He was riding tired. He needed gas. It was dark. He misjudged the entryway to the gas station and hit a curb a glancing blow. He high-sided. He's worried about how I'll react to the fact the new Yamaha Super Tenere is lying on its right side, wounded, with oil dripping out of the engine.


"I'm about two miles from home. Would it be safe to ride that distance?"
I felt like a Doctor being asked to diagnose an illness over the phone.
"Absolutely not. Park it. Find a way home. We'll deal with this tomorrow after a good night's sleep."

I was worried the engine block was cracked. As it turned out, he had holed the clutch cover on the engine... still a $$$$$ repair, but nowhere near the cost of repairing/replacing the engine.
For my son, the worst part was the time it took the dealership to make the repair.

Fast forward to this week-
We're here in Phoenix visiting him.
He mounted the now slightly dinged/scratched Super Ten to go to work.
Fifteen minutes later Sara Jean's phone rang...
"I've been involved in an accident".

He's okay.
He stopped to allow a Fire Engine to proceed through an intersection. The 17-year old girl in the new Mustang behind him had her stereo blaring and didn't hear the siren... saw the stopped motorcycle too late. Slamming on her brakes, she thankfully was only going about 5 mph when she rear-ended him and sent him flying.
The bike is now dinged in the rear and on the opposite side from his first incident. It's really beginning to look like an "off-road" motorcycle.

We thank God he's not seriously hurt.
But that's two "incidents" in three months now.
Our thoughts are, naturally, "Should he be on two wheels?"
He's 32. I'm not at all sure he'd quit motorcycling no matter how much we cajoled.
It's his decision.
He's the one with the aches and pains this morning.