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.
12,049 responses to “On the death of one man”
Sekarang banyak banget penipuan online yang mirip banget sama situs terkenal.
Jangan sampai ketipu ya! Cek URL dan pastikan protokol keamanannya aktif sebelum kasih data.
I think this is among the most vital information for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on some general things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
Why visitors still make use of to read news papers when in this technological globe
all is accessible on net?
Face value is the unit price at which the scheme was launched.
If you wish to explore this possibility, please contact the PAC chair, listed on the PAC web web page.
By considering these elements, Jennings, Louisiana homeowners can remain protected while still benefiting from the advantages of home-sharing.
Could 12: England and Scotland begin the practice of detaining German and Austrian males ages sixteen to 60 in internment camps.
District info for Bordentown Regional College District, Nationwide Heart for Education Statistics.
Cronkite News – Arizona PBS.
International journey and expense management firm, FCm Journey Solutions has used its annual convention to showcase the company’s latest developments in expertise and future strategies for sales, account management and advertising and marketing.
He moved to Chickasha several years ago and then to the lake two years ago.
It was the first Super-Responsibility Chevy truck.
Great delivery. Solid arguments. Keep up the good work.
Remarkable! Its really amazing article, I have got much clear idea about from this post.
How economy modifications with overseas economic system?
Non-tariff barriers such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and technical standards imposed by the European Union are equally obstacles for cooperatives in exporting products.
The canopy and accompanying columns give the visual impression that the determine or scene is set in a carved area of interest or viewed by an elaborate window.
On July 23, 1909, the same day the Harrison Street crossing development started, an informal convention was held for members of the Passaic Street Committee, part of the city council.
MATTHEW Matt. 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Whereas the Romans were fighting the Celts, writers, starting with Caesar, repeat roughly what has been said earlier than about the knowledge of the Druids however, following Caesar, have much to say about their atrocities.
2010, was the ninth-highest determine for an episode of Physician Who since its 2005 revival.
Others embody to maneuver away with the federal government’s ‘obsession’ with internet zero, which is having a ‘devasting influence’ on farming.
Gerard Francis Younger, JP.
Hi there, every time i used to check blog posts here in the
early hours in the dawn, as i like to gain knowledge of more and
more.
Corporate Tradition: Some people have reported a challenging corporate culture at Amazon.
In addition to dances that had been held over the winter months, magic lantern reveals were also provided for the patients by Colonel Nimmo.
Venkateswara Madhusudhana Iyer, Assistant Superintendent, Registration Department, Secretariat, Tanganyika.
Because of the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of twentieth Century Fox in 2019, The Simpsons at the moment are a Disney-owned intellectual property.
The depot was moved onto the land owned by Edo Kip, leading to Kip’s land becoming useful and himself rich.
The second day travels alongside the river flats of the Poulter earlier than climbing by the beech forest to the Binser saddle and then descending to the carpark near the Andrews shelter in the Mt White road.
24, 2022, she hinted that her child is due “Actually any second.” Caitlin also wrote that she was going on maternity leave from House Ec to give attention to the baby’s beginning and was pleased with herself for working up till her third trimester.
Fallout coming here from nuke use in Iran, Pakistan, India, Mid-East, Korea, Taiwan, China, Russia, Japan, and so forth.
I feel this is one of the such a lot important info
for me. And i am glad studying your article. But want to observation on some general
issues, The web site style is ideal, the articles is actually great : D.
Good job, cheers
RCM marked its first full calendar 12 months of buying and selling with a achieve of roughly 20 per cent.
Everyone loves what you guys are usually up too.
This kind of clever work and coverage! Keep up the amazing works guys I’ve added you guys to
my blogroll.
You may not need the bricks and mortar of a local presence but you will need the intellectual capital of people who know local markets.
But when we have already got wind turbines to harness wind power, why use ocean waves?
Using a worldwide network of radio towers, antennas and transceivers, amateur radio enthusiasts are able to communicate with fellow hobbyists around the globe, sometimes by voice and sometimes by Morse code.
Good did all of the planning, and took all financial burdens of tramline 1. After that, in January 2002, the Agglomération saw the sunshine, the general public authority for Good and 22 surrounding self-governing communities.
Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers?
I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?
Many marriage ceremony decorators in Bangalore are identified for his or her means to deal with any culturally various wedding ceremony, whether it could possibly be a Punjabi marriage ceremony, Marwari wedding, Sindhi marriage ceremony and so on.
Let your contacts know what kind of work you are interested in and ask them to maintain you in mind if they hear of any relevant opportunities.
A wide variety of commodities will be traded amid end user buyers and maker sellers under the umbrella of standard agreement rules and Commodity Trading rules and regulations.
The vital economies of the aforementioned association will grow at a swifter pace than the rest of Asia in the span of next four years or so.
An indexed annuity (the word equity previously tied to indexed annuities has been removed to help prevent the assumption of stock market investing being present in these products) in the United States is a type of tax-deferred annuity whose credited interest is linked to an equity index-typically the S&P 500 or international index.
In 1997, Carr Futures was acquired by Cr?dit Agricole, and in 2004, Carr Futures was rebranded as Calyon Financial.
Unfortunately, if the dependent is the only one “legally obligated” to make payments, neither you nor the dependent may claim the deduction.
There may also be specific expenses associated with a particular major.
The negative trend occurred when traders digested the figures released by Barclays; the bank reported a 44 rise in half-year profits, which despite beating market forecasts was over shadowed by a slowdown in the second quarter in their investment division with the top-line income standing at ?3.38 billion, a 15 drop from the previous quarter.
“Personally, I simply feel so upset that we don’t have a Authorities that is going to hear.