The Guy Fell In

"Strange things happen." So they say. In my life it's true. Too many to count. This is one more. Riding home, on my bike, last night. I rode out of the downtown area of Walla Walla, headed up through Whitman College. For those of you who do not live in Walla Walla, it is important to realize that Mill Creek runs right through the center of town, on an East to West line. Years ago, after too many floods, government came through, on behalf of the people, and built a cement canal to house the river. Good government. From the east end of town, to the west, Walla Walla is intersected by bridges, as many roads cross over Mill Creek. One of them has been under reconstruction recently, stimulus money I imagine.

Generally speaking, when I see flashing emergency lights, I do not stop to see what they might be doing. On this occasion I could not help myself. As I rode by the construction, I saw on the other side of the bridgework, a gaggle of fire and police cars. The ambulance was close to the fence that shut the area off. There was one police vehicle on my side of Mill Creek, next to the fence blocking this side. There were also three people standing next to the fence, on my side, watching what was happening. Like I said, I could not help myself. It was too curious, what was going on? I rode over to the people at the fence and asked, "What's happening?" "There is a guy down in there. He's drunk and he fell down in there and now he is too injured to get himself out," they told me.

The fire department had a ladder deployed down into the canalway. It was probably a good fifteen feet down in. We could see shadows on the cement walls, of the rescue workers working on him. The had a floodlight that was backlighting the scene. It was an interesting effect, with all the lights flashing from the emergency vehicles parked above. We could hear the guy moaning and the rescue guys talking to him. At this point in the construction, the entire road section of the bridge is gone. What was left were the cement pilings and the cement walls of the canal, which had several sections to it, at this point. Each section was divided by a cement wall. He was in the section farthest from our side of the street.

We were making the usual commentary on drunken ignorance. Those of us, who were safely perched on our observation post. Suddenly, the ladder was pulled down and then flipped back up. Somehow they had contrived to attach the rescue board to the tall end of the ladder and he was quickly removed by those on top and put into a waiting ambulance bed. They worked on him for a moment before they put him into the ambulance itself. I turned and asked the couple next to me. "Do you know how he was found? Who called it in?"

"We did." They said. "Where were you when you heard him?" "We were in our apartment." "Wow!" I said. "Amazing, you were inside your living room?" "Yep." "And you heard him hollering for help?" "Well, our walls are really thin," they said. "He is lucky you heard him." "We hear everything in there." Just then the officer, whose vehicle was parked on our side, began to climb out. The couple moved over to speak with him. As I got ready to ride out, I saw a good friend of mine and we left the scene together. It was interesting, this friend and I had recently had some tension between us and this was a good opportunity to bridge that gap. After we left we went to his place to catch up. I love Walla Walla. Life happens everywhere, I know. The intersections of life, those points when coincidence becomes the norm. That life happens here and is unique and interesting to me. I know that I am a lucky person and these little events go on in a way that keeps working for me. "Strange things happen." Indeed.