A Bad Idea

I have entertained my share of bad ideas.  Two attempted motorcycle jumps and one floundering ski jump immediately move to the front of my mind.  Each of those events left their mark.  One year, I tied to calculate my own taxes.  From my perspective, that is a bad idea.

I will, however, need to work a little harder on bad ideas if I ever wish to compete in the bad idea marketplace with Luis Santos.  Santos is a young man from Norwalk, Connecticut.  Recently, Mr. Santos negotiated a preposterously wide turn on a Norwalk street, forcing a police cruiser to swerve away in efforts to avoid a head-on collision.  In spite of the police officer’s quick maneuver, the rearview mirrors on the vehicles struck one another.

Mr. Santos continued driving on.

Naturally, the police officer wheeled around his cruiser, flipped on his lights and siren, and then made pursuit of what turned out to be a Chevy Lumina.  After a short chase, the Lumina finally stopped in the center of a busy intersection, blocking the flow of traffic.

A bad idea—but wait—we have more.

The police officer exited his cruiser to approach the car blocking the street and immediately noticed a strong odor of marijuana originating from the Lumina.  When Mr. Santos stepped from his car he was wearing shirt proclaiming “High As %#@*” and holding a lit marijuana cigarette in his hand.   A bad idea stacked on a mountain of other bad ideas.

Not surprisingly, Luis Santos failed a field sobriety test and was arrested.

Maybe, comparatively, my ski jump wasn’t such a bad idea.  I was down for only a single day after that one.  The tax thing still qualifies.  And, really, competing with Luis Santos is another bad idea.  

--Mitchell Hegman