We are our brother’s keeper. However, some of us are looking the other way. How can this be? We share the same spaces, care for one another in different ways during fires or floods or earthquakes. Who can ever forget how close this nation was during the world changing events of Sept. 11, 2001?
We suddenly all came together and this nation was totally unified. I will never forget the emotional experience of that event, and as time wore on the unity was diluted and we became swept up in other matters. How could that closeness have evaporated? We waved at every fire truck after that day. We greeted anyone in uniform with respect and compassion. I remember seeing a young man offer a box of doughnuts to a policeman, as though reaching out to all officers in a time when we could reassure each other we are together, one nation, one mass of humanity bonded by tragedy.
Having said that, I can only suppose what lies ahead may be bad news, more of the “let’s just look out for me” attitude. Why should I care about anyone riding a bicycle on PCH, why should I slow down? I, along with thousands of other folks who happen to enjoy an occasional bike ride, can only wonder what was going on in the mind of the man in the catering truck that fateful day on PCH. I did not know the two men who were killed. I do know hundreds of people were affected by this tragedy. We need to look at the situation closely, and sit down with CalTrans and map out a plan to make the roadway safe.
Let us come together, as we have in the past, to right this terrible wrong. We need to show our children and their children that there is always a solution. I know too well that it is too easy to look the other way and have someone else make the necessary changes. “It’s not my problem. I don’t ride a bike.” Well I believe it is everyone’s problem. We live here. Let’s fix it.
Dermot Stoker, chairman
Parks and Recreation Commission