it's a good thing i went out even when i didn't want to. i had a fine time, dressed in my affected black attire, drinking rye and brown ale with some of my favorite people. but truly, it was the ride home that was an event. going down don gaspar, i saw two girls on their bicycles zoom past me at the intersection of paseo de peralta. i slowed for the red light, but they kept going. it wasn't until a good three minutes of red light that i moved on, only to find, three blocks up, one of the girls wrapped around a tree, laying on the sidewalk, gushing blood from her head. i couldn't even comprehend what i was seeing as i slowly drove by, then, realizing, backed up in a frenzy to help. she wasn't breathing. the knot on her forehead was like a goddamn grapefruit. i got on the phone immediately with 911 to see what i should do. granted, i had that one semester of EMT training under my belt, but that didn't really mean much in a situation like this. yes, i know cpr, but that's not gonna stop the life gushing from her face. i stayed with her, yelling at her to wake up, slapping her face, telling her to squeeze my hands as hard as she could. finally, the shock set and she was up with a start. she just kept yelling between breaths, "laura! my name is laura! i want to go home!"

god, i could go on. describe the details of the rest of it, as the cops came and stood by, letting me keep her calm. then the paramedics arrived and took over, strapped her up in the gurney and neck brace, her frantically asking if i could stay with her. "no," they said. i'm not family. which is fine. a good deed done is a good deed done.

thank god i have red wine and valium readily on hand, because my heart is spinning like a blender blade.