Three years ago...

today, a careless driver smashed me and my bicycle like a Ping Pong ball at 50 MPH. 

I woke up in a ditch with First Responders tending to my many wounds. Later on at the ER,  the Doc told me I had sustained eleven broken vertebrae and one broken sternum. I had road rash everywhere and a piece of my nose went missing. (I knew I had a large proboscis but this wasn't the way I wanted to reduce it).

During the lengthly healing process in Fort Collins, Colorado many friends and former colleagues came by to see me. I called these visits, "welfare checks." 

One notable guest was Randy Mirowski. He's my former Captain, Chief and fire service teacher. He's a devout Christian and a friend for life.

Here's what this pious man told me, "Jeffy! You survived the accident for a reason. The good Lord knows you have a message to convey. There's a plan for you."

So...what's my message?

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Nope, a cliche our parents told us.

Buy a camper van, and be the person who lives down by the river in it. Well, it's working for me so far, but probably not for everyone.

Here it is: Every time you get on a bicycle, please, don a properly fitting helmet. The one and only reason my skull wasn't smushed like a watermelon in a Gallagher comedy skit was the use of a helmet. This simple safety device saved me.

Please don't ride a bicycle without one.

The good life we all yearn for can be snuffed out in one final blink of an eye.

Jeff