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.
13,204 responses to “On the death of one man”
It?s really a great and helpful piece of info. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
Sex
Porn
Viagra
Buy Drugs
Pornstar
you are in point of fact a good webmaster. The website loading speed is amazing. It seems that you are doing any unique trick. In addition, The contents are masterwork. you have performed a excellent task on this subject!
I have taken note that of all sorts of insurance, health care insurance is the most dubious because of the turmoil between the insurance cover company’s necessity to remain profitable and the user’s need to have insurance coverage. Insurance companies’ commission rates on well being plans are certainly low, so some organizations struggle to make money. Thanks for the concepts you discuss through this web site.
Porn
Sex
Buy Drugs
Pornstar
Porn site
I have realized some new elements from your website about computer systems. Another thing I’ve always thought is that computer systems have become something that each home must have for some reasons. They provide convenient ways in which to organize households, pay bills, go shopping, study, pay attention to music and perhaps watch tv series. An innovative strategy to complete most of these tasks is by using a laptop. These computer systems are portable ones, small, highly effective and lightweight.
Sex
Pornstar
Buy Drugs
Sex
Porn
Porn
Porn site
You can definitely see your expertise within the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. At all times go after your heart.
Viagra
Pornstar
Viagra
Scam
Buy Drugs
Buy Drugs
I believe that avoiding refined foods could be the first step so that you can lose weight. They could taste great, but processed foods contain very little nutritional value, making you take more just to have enough electricity to get through the day. When you are constantly ingesting these foods, switching to grain and other complex carbohydrates will help you to have more electricity while taking in less. Great blog post.
Viagra
Liver, carrots and dried apricots are additionally good sources of vitamin A or carotenoids.
For vitamin C without the orange, look to tomatoes, broccoli,
and carrots. Even with comparatively affordable foods, it
can’t assist to search for the real offers. One massive orange (or a small glass of its juice)
has more than one hundred p.c of the vitamin C you want for
the day — vital for collagen formation, wholesome teeth and bones and iron absorption (and whereas it hasn’t yet been confirmed, it may additionally help to get rid of dangerous “free radicals”), which makes for a very properly-spent 40 cents.
Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Sex
Scam
Terrific work! This is the kind of information that should be shared around the net. Disgrace on the search engines for now not positioning this publish higher! Come on over and consult with my website . Thanks =)
I don?t even know how I finished up here, however I believed this post used to be good. I do not recognise who you are however definitely you are going to a famous blogger for those who are not already 😉 Cheers!
I’m extremely inspired together with your writing talents as well as with the layout to your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it your self? Anyway stay up the nice high quality writing, it is uncommon to look a nice weblog like this one nowadays..
From my notice, shopping for consumer electronics online can for sure be expensive, yet there are some principles that you can use to acquire the best bargains. There are generally ways to obtain discount specials that could help make one to possess the best electronic devices products at the cheapest prices. Great blog post.
Sex
Buy Drugs
Porn
Scam
Porn
Viagra
Scam
Sex
As a result of the construction of the Western Avenue
Viaduct, the building’s ground stage lies about 10 ft (3.0 m) beneath Western Avenue,
with a ramp offering vehicular access. Due to the ground’s slope, the building’s important ground is at floor degree on the north and east sides, but
rises a full story above the bottom on the south and west sides.
The county is named for the Stanislaus River, first discovered
by a European in 1806, and later named Rio Estanislao in honor of Estanislao, a local
American chief. Building of the Central Pacific Railroad at that time had reached a
station designated to be named after Mitchell, however he declined
the honor and prompt as a substitute it be named after Turlough in County
Mayo, Eire.
It has a seven-hole design with a bull horn at the non-blowing finish.
At the tip of the season, Wimmer moved to Cup,
and Kenny Wallace took his place, posting ten top-ten finishes and ending ninth
in points.
I love it when people come together and share opinions, great blog, keep it up.