Years ago, while I was a student (for the umpteenth time) at Ball State, I would get around by bicycle because I couldn't afford a car. It was then that I developed my habit of finding the shortest way from point A to point B. Or point A to points C, M, or W. In this case W was work. I also discovered that the shortest distance between these two points was also the safest for a person on two wheels after a close encounter with an angry driver.
On one of my late afternoon trips to work, a driver decided that she could turn right (in front of me) as I was riding through the intersection. She was in a hurry and apparently I was in her way, which she informed me of after she knocked me over when the rear bumper of her car clipped my bike tire and knocked me to the curb. It was so nice that she took the time to stop her car and inform me of that in some choice words before speeding away to whatever important matter she was late for. Never mind that I had the right of way. So I arrived to work late with torn pants, gravel in the heal of my right hand and a determination to find a better way to get to work.
A few trial runs, some exploring of where parking lots had entrances and exits, and I had my shortcut to work. The trip took me through numerous side streets, two campus parking lots and the rear entrance to a strip mall. It not only kept me off some of the busier streets and out of their intersections, the shortcut also cut fifteen minutes from my time.
On one of those trips is when the weird moment happened. I was riding through the parking lot just east of University Gym (or whatever they call it now) when I heard this strange noise in the wooded area between the lot and the homes abutting campus. It wasn't until I got a little closer that I found out that it was a guy walking through the woods, playing his bagpipes. Thankfully he wasn't in a kilt. Honestly, how often does someone hear the bagpipes outside of a parade route or the occasional police funeral?
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