On the death of one man

Bob Shimeld

I met Bob Shimeld only once, several years ago, on a bus. We chatted for all of 15 minutes, if that, but the conversation stuck with me. I never forgot him.

It was a summer morning in Longview, Texas, and the bus picked up Shimeld in front of a Walmart store on the north side. Boarding took longer than usual because the driver had to get up and help Shimeld with his electric wheelchair. The back of his chair, I noticed, had been decorated with a Massachusetts novelty license plate that read B-O-B, for Bob.

Shimeld said he moved from the Northeast about five years earlier to escape the winters in his home state. “If you stay still too long, your wheelchair will freeze to the ground,” he joked. “No snow tires for a wheelchair.”

He claimed to have thrown a dart at a map of Texas. The dart hit Longview, so that’s where he went. He liked the place. The people were friendly. He was a 72-year-old military veteran who described his days as “a lot of sitting around,” which was easy enough to do in a wheelchair.

I got off the bus a few stops after Shimeld boarded, and I never saw him again. After that day, I also never got back on the bus. When I am in East Texas and need to make a grocery run, or want to go to a restaurant or anywhere else, I hop in my Jeep or ride with someone else. Our cities are built for getting around with a car. My only reason for riding the bus on that day was to visit with the passengers of Longview Transit for a story that appeared in the newspaper.

The passengers I met included elderly retirees who could no longer drive safely. Other passengers worked the kinds of low-paying jobs that help keep the rest of our lives running smoothly: a grocery store cashier, for example, and a hairdresser with epilepsy. One man named John Solomon had just finished his shift scrubbing dishes at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. His hands, wrists and forearms were peeling badly from the soapy water, but he hadn’t noticed. He was traveling home to spend the evening with his young son and daughter.

Most of the people I met that day were dealing with less-than-ideal circumstances, but they were upbeat and optimistic about their futures. They had jobs and homes, and they talked about their determination to better their lives. They seemed to make Longview a richer place. Somehow they managed to do it all without a vehicle, a complication that most of us would never consider.

That was in 2009. Shimeld died on Dec. 16. I read about his death in the newspaper. He was trying to cross McCann Road near a busy intersection not far from K-Mart when a pickup turned onto the road and struck him.

The News-Journal reported that Shimeld was the sixth pedestrian killed in the city in 2014. That’s three times the average death rate for pedestrians in Texas, the paper also reported. A subsequent editorial described the “grim realities of the danger while walking” and noted that municipal officials are aware of the problem and are planning to address it in the city’s next comprehensive plan. Well, good.

Where Shimeld died, the intersection does not have a crosswalk. Lots of the city’s intersections don’t, because so few people need them. But some do. People like Shimeld. I’ll try not to forget that.


13,822 responses to “On the death of one man”

  1. The pagoda was built on land donated by the queen mom, who additionally contributed most of the development funds, alongside donations from Buddhist followers and the area people.

  2. ?? ???? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ????????. ????? ????? ?????????? ????. ??? ???????? ???? ???? ? ????? ??? ? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ???????. ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ? ????? ???? ????? ????????? ??????? ? ?????? ????? ??? ???????. ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ????? ? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ???.

  3. Hey There. I discovered your weblog the use of msn. This is a very well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to learn extra of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I will definitely return.

  4. This is hands down one of the greatest articles I’ve read on this topic! The author’s comprehensive knowledge and passion for the subject are apparent in every paragraph. I’m so appreciative for finding this piece as it has enhanced my understanding and stimulated my curiosity even further. Thank you, author, for taking the time to craft such a remarkable article!

  5. This design is wicked! You most certainly know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

  6. Hey there this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!

  7. I have figured out some important matters through your site post. One other thing I would like to state is that there are many games on the market designed especially for toddler age kids. They incorporate pattern acknowledgement, colors, family pets, and forms. These commonly focus on familiarization as opposed to memorization. This keeps little children occupied without experiencing like they are studying. Thanks

  8. The White Rabbit slot machine comes with excessive volatility and an RTP
    which ranges between 97.24% and 97.77%, depending on whether the Feature Drop is at zero cost, or purchased, respectively.
    The rabbit scatter is what it is advisable to look out for as this can award you with 15 free spins.
    To access the Micro SD card slot on an authentic Nintendo Switch, merely pop out the kickstand on the again of the console.
    ExpressCards can join quite a lot of gadgets to a computer including mobile broadband modems (sometimes referred to as join cards), IEEE 1394 (FireWire) connectors, USB connectors, Ethernet network ports, Serial ATA storage devices, solid-state drives, external
    enclosures for desktop-dimension PCI Express graphics cards and different peripheral
    devices, wireless network interface controllers (NIC), Tv tuner cards,
    Common Access Card (CAC) readers, and sound cards.
    It provides one extra character slot to your account, up to 69 character slots in total,
    together with the unique ones. There are the hardcore slots demons who simply need to attempt
    their luck on a brand new machine; slots gamers are a
    superstitious bunch in spite of everything, and if you’re not experiencing any joy in your
    common slots, a recent problem will hopefully herald a change in fortunes.

  9. This design is wicked! You most certainly know
    how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos,
    I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job.
    I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
    Too cool!

  10. Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you may
    be a great author. I will remember to bookmark your blog and may come back down the road.
    I want to encourage one to continue your great writing,
    have a nice day!

  11. But then again, if life were more like a role-playing game, we’d have a lot more
    monsters chasing us. Basically, this is a more
    complex version of the old saying “Do not put all your eggs in one basket.”Academic research,
    such as the Brinson, Hood and Beebower 1986 and 1991 shows
    that asset allocation is one of the most important factors in determining portfolio return.

  12. ?????????1982?1?20?????3?24???????? 19?30? – 20?00????????????????21?25???????????218???11???????C51 29?????1??11????????????2 km?????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????&?????

  13. ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  14. It is perfect time to make some plans for the long
    run and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this publish and if
    I may I want to recommend you few interesting issues or tips.
    Maybe you could write subsequent articles regarding this article.
    I want to read more issues about it!

  15. 1980???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????19????????????????!???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????

  16. ?????????????????????
    ???????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 2013?6?29? – ????????????????? Wroe,
    David (2018?6?28?). “British frigate program to seed Australia’s own warship industry, Turnbull says” (??).
    2004?8?11???????????????????????UFJ????????????????? 2020?1?24??18:40 – 19:00??????????????!

  17. ??, ??; ??, ??; ???, ??; ??, ?? (2021-08).
    “??????????? ?????!???????????????????????????? ??????????”.
    “?????9????”. “???????????????????????????????????????????? – ?????????????????????????????SKR200? 4??????????????JR?????????????????????????58? 3????

  18. 29???? ???????????”. ???????! 2023????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? (air data probe) ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 2008? – Candy?CHIHIRO???????LOVERSSOUL????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  19. ????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????- JASRAC??????132-4948-7????????????????????????????????????20??? (32 km) ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  20. ???????????68,000??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????2????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  21. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? “??16????????????????????????????????????????? – ??? : ??????”.

  22. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????30??????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????5???????????????????????????????

  23. ?”. ??????? (2024?1?4?). 2024?2?5???? 2015?1?3??????????????????????24???????????????SP!?????????????????????????????????????????????????????! “?????Twitter”. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  24. ????????????????????????????????????????YouTuber??????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  25. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

  26. ???????????? ?????35???????2018?6??83?? ??????????10???????????????2011?10?6??????????????2004?7???2004?? ????????? ???????17???”.????????????????????1????????????????????1??????????????3????????????????????????????? ??????2011?4?16?????????????. “???????? ?????TDL
    ??46????”.

  27. ??????????1955???1975????5????50%??????????????RUCCA?????????? 5??????17?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????2?????????2008??936???????????.

    2008???T-INFINITY???????????????????????????2 km???????????????6?30??????????7?1????107 mm????7?4??????????8????????5???445 mm???????

  28. ??????????????! ?????????????????????…?????: ???? Archived 2014?7?28?, at the Wayback Machine.
    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????DS??????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1887????20???????????????????????????????????

  29. ????????????????????? 1969, pp.
    ?M-1??????????”??????????”???????????????????????????????”. No.2?????????????? – ??????????????????????????????????????????????BP (2022?3?16?). 2022?3?16???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Leave a Reply to ???? ?????? Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *