I have a few different things to write about, including my recent trip to NH (which was great), but today's post is short and sweet. The link below is incredibly simple, yet profoundly powerful.
Free Rice
Check it out, and start feeding those less fortunate while improving your vocabulary. The organization is a non-profit, which means they pay their bills and their workers, then everything else goes to buying rice for those who need food. Their ad revenue = sustainable food for poor people. I'm not sure how much better I can explain it. Bookmark it, use it, learn from it, feel good about it.
It's become somewhat of a tradition at my job for most of us to go out as a group on Fridays for lunch. Today was business as usual... we hit up the Tuscan Table Lunch Buffet at Jill's on Pearl St. This group lunch was more significant than the usual fare, as it was John's last day with the company. A great guy and an awesome co-worker, he will be missed. We all took pleasure in putting John's lunch on our tab, a small informal token of appreciation of what he meant to us. We departed Jill's, with Kym as the pilot, and cruised East down Canyon Boulevard.
For reason's I cannot remember, the conversation turned to the subject of Kym's driving mishaps, and the list was lengthy. We all chimed in with our own stories and playfully remarked about our safety in Kym's hands. As we pulled up to a stoplight at 18th St., we were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a blaring car horn, rapidly approaching. Before any of us could get our bearings on the source of the sound, a white Toyota Camry (1998 I think) came screaming past us in the empty left hand turn lane. The Camry slid, breaks locked up, right into the middle of the intersection, nearly causing an accident.
Our brains raced while we tried not only comprehend the scene, but to overlay some meaning on it as a whole. My first reaction was that the driver was not paying attention and had simply carelessly careened through the intersection. Something wasn't about this wasn't right though, I could sense it. Time seemed to slow, and as this vague feeling of misgiving intensified, it was met by another sound of rapidly increasing proximity.
A siren... Police, fire, or medical I could not discern. The answer was quick to follow in the form of a black on black Ford Crown Victoria in full unmarked police car glory. The low-pro po traced a similar trajectory though the intersection, and the situation became adrenaline-inducingly clear. We were witnessing a high speed police pursuit in the heart of Boulder. That's when things got interesting.
I honestly don't remember who suggested it (OK it was me), but Kym was quickly persuaded to pursue the pursuit. Please keep in mind that this was not a full-throttle, police car chasing, Real TV effort to see the action. It was more of an obey all traffic rules, follow the siren sound, and hope we see the Camry pulled over type of effort. With that said, we got more up close and personal than any of us expected.
After taking a left turn and coming to the stoplight at 18th and Walnut, we took a right, and we quickly saw the Camry shoot out in front of us followed immediately by the black Crown Vic. They headed east, the same direction we were heading. The chase took a quick left and we followed at a safe distance.
We watched the chase blow through two red lights then take a hard left (now heading west), while we sat and waited at the intersection of Pearl and 20th. It was here that Kym decided to abandon the chase. She turned right on Pearl, to a loud chorus of boos from myself, John, and Jess. We had officially lost the suspect and chase car. The chances of us encountering them again was slim to none. Regardless, Kym yielded to the peer pressure and turned north on 23rd and then west on Pine, following the last known direction of the chase. I rolled down my window and listen for sirens. Nothing.
As we cruised down Pine St., we realized that our adventure was over, and that it was probably time to head back to the office. We had seen something that none of us had ever seen before... an in-person high speed police pursuit. It was awesome. As our heart rate began to slow, a familiar sound crept into earshot. Before we had time to process it, once again a car horn on overdrive turned into a speeding Camry before our eyes. Except this time was different. The Camry was forcing drivers off the road and heading straight at us in our own lane.
Kym reacted quickly and swerved to the right, and the Camry screamed past us, no police pursuit in sight. I caught a glimpse of the driver, and he bore a resemblance to Iggy Pop. As Kym slowly pulled back out into traffic, I realized that the Boulder PD has given up the chase for the protection of the general public. We turned around and followed in the same direction, but something had changed. Our lazy lunch-time exercise in car trailing had become slightly more immediate than we had imagined.
We headed back to the office, our hearts still working overtime. As usual, the adrenaline and experience soon translated into a weird mix of amazement and laughter. We had gotten TOO close. But in the end we had a kick-ass story to tell when we got back to the office. And John will always remember his last lunch with Powell Media. I'm down with that.
