<![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget - Gawker Comments]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget - Gawker Comments]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Last autumn, after exiting the W. 72 St. Subway station, I witnessed a 60-something gentleman being run over by a bus on W. 73rd St., between Broadway and Amsterdam. Needless to say, he was dead and I was suddenly in the mood to be fully rubbed by a middle-aged Korean woman at the questionable massage joint on Amsterdam and W. 73 St. An hour and a half later, I left the massage parlour somewhat disappointed (no happy ending). While waiting to cross W. 73 St., I get to see an octogenarian lady trying to beat the light across Amsterdam. Big truck, meet Octogenarian Lady; Octogenarian Lady ... rest in peace. A witness to two traffic deaths, 90 minutes apart, about 50 yards apart. At least I learned from the first street-staining. I stayed away from the massage joint, went home, drank a bottle of wine and put on some internet porn... On a related matter, where DOES one go for a happy ending?

Moyle1Forskin0

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @KarenUhOh: Balk came to your house? For checkers?

Just how I imagine him. Hope you had some good scotch on hand.

atipofthehat

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Balk, like everyone here, sorry you had to see that. It's awful. I worked the emergency room in a few hospitals over the years, and even though that's what you expect to see there, it still never leaves you. I'm sorry for that poor kid. Awful, but my heart breaks for his family. Please God that no one here is ever on the receiving end of a phone call like the one his mother got. Just be more careful, and say a prayer for the kid and his family.

sassypants

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things we should've said,
That we never said.
All the things we should've done,
Though we never did.
All the things that you needed from me.
All the things that you wanted for me.
All the things that I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go away.
Just make it go away now.

RollsRoycehead-on

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @fortqueenmean: Nope. Wasn't the same one.

MercuryPDX

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Two tears in a bucket fu_k it!! you should be over it this weekend. PARTY

PlayAtUrOwnRisk

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Poor guy. I feel awful for whoever he was talking to.

RollsRoycehead-on

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @PandoraSpocks: @Mediahohoho: No clue who either of you are but it's true, I've never been funny. Sorry. But don't peg me as any recent anonymous commenter here. I don't hide behind anything. I swear on the lives of my family, nieces and nephews. Some shit you just don't fuck around with.

krucoff

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Walking home from work last year, I saw a crowd of people by a bus just north of the intersection of 42nd and 3rd. And then I saw what they were looking at--a body pinned underneath the third set of wheels. I can still see it. I couldn't help crying hysterically the entire way home. In some ways, it was worse than watching the towers fall. Man, NYC's a bitch sometimes.

yalechk

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> hey balk - i'm not really trying to get approved to post forever (or until i'm boring) but wanted to say im sorry and that sucks. i ran the JP Morgan Corp Challenge this year, when i got to the second mile i saw a commotion, stopped to see if i could help -a guy had collapsed on the side - eyes rolling back - we tried to cool him down, called 911 and kept checking his pulse, a nurse and a doctor who were running stopped to give him cpr, i stayed until the ambulance got there and they tried to defibulate him. i went to the end of the race to find his office mates, lef them with our number. the guy ended up dying - i had the hardest time getting over it, i didnt know him, he didnt know me, but there was something so frightninigly sad about it, this man died on a street in central park - had no one around who knew him, had no idea this would be how his day went.

its awful and sad to be a witness - but you do what you can do, say a little prayer for his family and get up tomorrow.

morganella

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> A reader who also witnessed the scene wrote in to let me know that,unfortunately,the young man did die. Do not cross the street while talking on your cell, okay? No conversation is that important. Love you guys.

Balk

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Love you, Balk, will miss your Cock, obvs.

Friends hug your friends and all that.

numbersix

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Life needs sobering moments to remind us of the important things.

My sympathies go out to the victim, the witnesses, an all those who've experienced their own losses.

dweeb

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> So sad for the kid, and so sad for you Balk. I'm sorry you witnessed it, and glad you told us.

9 months ago this happened to my now-husband, right in front of our apartment. Nothing makes you know he's the one like feeling your heart jump into your throat when you see your lover lying in the street with a puddle of blood coming out of his head. Thankfully, thankfully, he's almost fine now, but so many aren't so lucky. My heart goes out to that poor kid and his family.

Pesquyist

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> So I have been a bike messenger off and on for about 10 years. I've lost a couple of friends and acquaintances to automobile-related incidents and they all sucked. When I was messengering, I would always have those 1/2 awake dreams as I fell asleep where I'd be shooting the gap between a bus and an 18 wheeler only to have the gap closed out on me before I could get through. I would wake with a jolt at the final moment, completely shaken, but relieved that it was just a dream. I haven't messengered for 2 years and I haven't had one of those dreams for a while either.
Sorry you had to see what you did, Balk. Best to you with your new opportunities at Radar.
Has anybody found out who the kid was or what eventually happened?



riskybusiness

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> balk- sorry you had to see that. I'm not sure why, but on reading that, my first thought was "Jesus, I hope I don't die wearing a tie."

SemperBufo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @KarenUhOh: As if, what, you weren't--already--queen of us all?

Mediahohoho

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> All I can add at this point is to thank Balk, think of the young man's family, and hug mine.

irishbreakfast

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @MercuryPDX: Was that ten years ago? And how wild that we were both witness to that one.

fortqueenmean

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Mediahohoho: "Queen me."

KarenUhOh

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Balk-

Ten years ago I saw a bike messenger slip on a wet street and slide under a MTA bus, head first. What ensued was one of those Gallagher moments, and since then I can not get the nerve to ride a bike in NYC.

Sorry that you had to witness this. To this day I still can see it.

fortqueenmean

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> What was he wearing?

Johnny_boy

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @KarenUhOh: At which point, KUO drops some devastating remark about Death's rancid breath, throws over the board and says, "I can find my own way, bitch."

Mediahohoho

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Thing about New York is (and, no it's not a competition, just an observation) we're not very well insulated. I've seen people bleed out on the sidewalk across the street from my apartment at three in the morning and every day pass examples that stand as cautionary tales of the worst ravages that booze, drugs, bad relationships and madness can wreck on a human. Some of us it keeps in line and reminds us that we're here for a couple of seconds then, like Keyser Sose, into the wind.

It's also writer's fuel, which is why so many still come here, despite the fact that it stopped being hospitable to creative types long, long ago.

Mediahohoho

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @PandoraSpocks: Krucoff was ever funny? News to me.

Mediahohoho

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @LaPretentieuse: From? A coffee-deprived 7:00 a.m. Chicago brainfart.

KarenUhOh

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @KarenUhOh: Wow. Where is this from?

LaPretentieuse

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> One nasty accident will cure you of rubbernecking.

Itsjustcatnip

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> "cause time will bid and make us rise
make ravens of us all"

sanson

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> So I open the door, and there's Death, leaning on the doorframe, grinning. Says to me, "I've come for you, but, you know, you get this last game of checkers."

I say, "Wait. It's chess. I saw it in a movie."

Death says, "Hmmph. Anyway, that's Art. Ponderous Art. Really somewhat tedious. And in black and white. Didn't you notice, that what you just had was in color?"

"Huh?"

Death walks in, sets up the board on the table right in the front hall. I mean, I don't even get a chair for this. I look at the board. Death's Black, just as you'd imagine, and already all the checkers are on my side of the board. Kinged.

"What the hell?" I say. "This in unfair!"

"Well," Death says, chuckling. "You know what they say." Death looks in my eyes, and for just a second, I swear I see pity, and a trace of understanding.

"Your move."

KarenUhOh

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @noasalira: Damn, I'd say it's about someone seeing something horrific who wanted to share it with his community. It's not a "me" thing, it's a human thing. I guess when you experience something good or bad, you keep it all bottled up. Don't want to share any humanity, that would be soooo selfish and egocentric.

Sheesh.

A.Twafeletta

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @noasalira: I was waiting for the inevitable post about how narcissistic we are for commiserating with our online friend Balk.

Of COURSE, we mourn most for the boy and his family. Balk, while being literally on the sidelines, is a part of what happened.

Had he not thought about what he had seen, if he had gone about his day without reacting to it, THAT would have been grotesque.

In the end, it is all about us and trying to make sense of what we experience.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> There's an intersection near my apt. where the cab drivers run the lights, (even more than usual if that's possible.) I have seen two people broken and bleeding on the ground there in the past month. Absolutely horrifying. The good news is that many people stopped to help, from calling 911, re-routing traffic and doing whatever they could do.

What a horrid thing to witness, Balk. I'm sorry.

MsMuffinMcGuffin

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> The "Me" generation indeed...

cue the violins and let me get the Valium on silver platters to pass around - most of these comments can be tagged 'narcissism' as should be the inevitable youtube videos showing 'great emotion' be tagged "me.sad"

run to the blog to post 'i have sympathy' post to mix in with the 'how drunk i can get' and 'look how good i look' posts, to truly show the world you are a multi-dimensional person..

and oh wait, twitter, jaiku?

is someone posting with a sad-face on facebook? found the appropriate moody music? Donnie Darko theme, perhaps?

i can't help but think of the actual person who was hurt, their family and friends...so uhm, sorry no room left for praise...

it really is possible to feel sympathy for someone else without making it all about you. well, maybe not possible for everyone...

noasalira

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @MattGaymon: In their anecdotage, these comments were actually getting perilously close to Foxy Brown at one point, rather than Iraq. Or maybe to God Shuffled His Feet. 'And um, that's like when this other terrible thing happened?'

So, and um, there's this museum? And on one wall they have pikes and halbards and maces and on the other wall they have glass cases displaying skulls collected from certain wars of religion, with little typed cards that are themselves already a hundred years old held down beside the skulls by round-headed pins, and on the cards, dead pathologists patiently teach us which skull holes are halbard holes, which the perforations of poleaxes and so on. Note the crushing around the hole, the clean-sliced edges, the irregularly broken edges and what we may infer from each. (It's like the prop room from A TV Pathologist in King Arthur's Court.) And as once the makers of that museum, so we here memorialize the wounds from which one or another of us witnessed the soul of man escaping into the darkness. We are fumbling towards a ritual. At least you might read the post and the comments and suppose so.

Tulletilsynet

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I love when you all are not being facetious -- love the (baseball fans Know) change-up!

Love to see Balk balk!

Is he (are you?) going to have this latitude with the new job?

Will root for you --

TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @LolCait: This is true. According to Calvin and Hobbs, when we die we go to plax sax in an all girl band.

SarahHeartburn

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> This is as close as Gawker gets to Iraq, I guess, and that's OK. Very sad.

SchmatSchmaymon

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> You know what's fun, Balk? Watching firemen pull out the body of a 14-year-old from a resaca as the mother screams. At moments like that I think, 'I followed around a clown for a week, how did I get here?'

Happy one year anniversary, EPG!

edwinap

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Balk, you are indeed a good egg. And a funny one. In my mind, I'm now associating you with Gordie Lachance from Stand by Me for some reason. That's not meant to be a joke, just an FYI.

It's good to see some earnestness in the blogosphere. So much snarkiness makes my teeth hurt sometimes.

Steverino

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Balk, the only halfway comforting thing to be said about this is that we are all of us walking through that door; it's just a question of when.

barnhouse

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> The thing is, whenever I hear about the young dying, I always think of well, I'll never drive drunk (yeah right) or I'll always wear a seatbelt. But I was hit by an SUV crossing the street WITH the light in goddam park slope. Thanks be that it wasn't going any faster. I would have died surrounded by organically-grown tots. But the point is, the final moment is so out of our control. When it hits you it hits you, no matter how many times you look both ways.

crazy.scientologist

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Everyone dies, and no one has a say in how or why. I feel sorrier for the kid; although a broken neck is a pretty quick way to go, so, while uncomfortable to behold, merciful. Actually, I feel most sorry for his family. He most certainly was loved by them, and will most certainly be mourned until they all die as well. They're the ones who deserve pity. The kid is off the board, and forgive me if you don't understand the gambling reference. Life is either wonderful or awful, unless you're sleeping. I'm old. I've seen people die before. It's one of the few things that inform my life that don't keep me up at night.

TheOldPooperoo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I wonder how Julia Allison is handling all this. Can you report back in detail how she and Liily are dealing with the tragedy of 9/27. Bastards.

(PS: I am sorry this happened. not so much for Balk, but for the person bleeding in the street.)

brokenface

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Balk - you did the right thing, got out of the way of the emergency folks and then shared it all with your friends. Death is a kick in the head, makes you realize how connected we are to each other, and even if a stranger dies, we are affected - which makes Iraq and Guantanamo and Darfur, et al., very hard to ignore. And when it happens RIGHT in front of you, of course you will be human[e].

What I have found is that sex is a great restorative - hope you're getting some. Right about now you're thinking you want to hold on and never let go, that you should be carrying on the chain of life, etc. Sex will at least help with that.

Hope the people at Radar will be treating you right. I will miss your erudition, humor and sexiness. Please take your cock with you, though.

WholeLottaLenya

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> There is a VEBA here, no????????????

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @LolCait: I am not unconvinced.

I just quit a client. I may have a lot of time to comment tomorrow.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @htotheomo: Calvin & Hobbes may actually contain the answer to the universe. It's just so brilliant.

LolCait

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @LolCait:
If Tomorrow Never Comes
If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would videotape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming, you would know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,
well I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance to make everything right.
There will always be another day to say our "I love you's",
And certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget,
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear,
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me," "thank you" or "it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today

I know it's long, but my grandmother just turned 90 and has recently suffered a series of strokes so yes I am counting and counting my blessed moments with her. Maybe this will wash out some of the other misplaced snark on this post.
*sob*


























BalknChain

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @LolCait: Hi darlin'.

You: Isn't it beautiful? It's so delicate. Sighhh...

Us: This post = that.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> you're a good man, Mr. B.

fileunder

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @LolCait: Or knows it all. He's still around, thankfully.

LolCait

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> "Isn't it beautiful? It's so delicate. Sighhh... once it's too late, you appreciate what a miracle life is. You realize that nature is ruthless and our existence is very fragile, temporary, and precious. But to go on with your daily affairs, you can't really think about that...which is probably why everyone takes the world for granted and why we act so thoughtlessly. It's very confusing. I suppose it will all make sense when we grow up."

Bill Watterson knew it all, yo.

LolCait

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> remember when the commenters on this site were funny and decent people? lately it's been stupidly racist and shocking, but now it's just stupid. shark jumped.

stew

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @newtojezebel: Actually, I had it done by one of those guys who will write your name on a grain of rice.

bitchyenglishmajor

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Balk: I'm sorry for that situation all the way around. This may sound odd, but a long time ago I saw an episode of The Golden Girls where their crotchedy neighbor died. Well Sophia attended the funeral and the others asked why she did so and she responded that we should show our respect to God by showing respect for the dead. I found this to be very profound. Also there is no humor in death.
Feel better my friend and ALWAYS count your blessings.
xoxo



BalknChain

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @bitchyenglishmajor: Did they offer you a discount? They do that when they're working on a tiny part of the body because it doesn't require much ink.

newtojezebel

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @htotheomo: Time for me to go home now!

newtojezebel

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @newtojezebel: Actually, that's a tattoo.

bitchyenglishmajor

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @bitchyenglishmajor: I don't know. You had it covered with a sticker that said "This is bigger than it appears"

newtojezebel

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> The thing about nyc is that it's such a pedestrian city. We don't jump in cars to go "next door." I'm sure many of us have had close calls with stupid bike riders that don't follow lights. And yes, I am wearing my ipod!

@Balk: A cock with a heart gets my respect!

BottomOnTop

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @newtojezebel: Andrew, if NTJ really was an actual person -- an idiot but a real person with feelings -- she would never have written what you just did.
You passed funny a long time ago. Now you're just a schmuck.


PandoraSpocks

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @htotheomo: Shh... It was a trick question.

bitchyenglishmajor

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> "Life changes in the instant."
The older I get the more often I think of the randomness of life and death. Some things you've seen or been through and people you hardly knew you never forget, ever. Everyone must die of something, but we don't get to chose where and when we are born -- or to whom and in which century -- and we don't usually get to pick the place and time we die. Absolutely none of this is fair or rational or designed to help us sleep better, but its all we've got.


PandoraSpocks

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I saw a dog get run over by a car a few weeks ago. It was awful. Now, I realize it was just a dog and not a human, but shit. I certainly squeezed the crap out of my puppy and a bottle of vodka when I got home.

Sorry for the poor guy, but also sorry that you had to see that. Drink more, think about it less.

SerialComma

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Balk: This shit is shocking as hell to see. Saw a smushed pedestrian last summer on 44th / 6th before any EMTs got there, and needless to say I had no interest in lunch or work the rest of the day. Doesn't matter how callous you are, it'll churn anyone's stomach, especially if it's random and completely unexpected right outside the office door.

G Voll the Mole

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> in a strange twist of fate, michael scott just hit someone while driving to work in the opening of the season premiere of the office.

the cajun boy

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @bitchyenglishmajor: Are you a guy? The other night. It was hazy.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @newtojezebel: Hi Sweet Pea/Lady Earnesty!

I am entirely hopeful that I am not you, but I get your ethos.

We know Balk is a DICK; in fact, Balk's Cock is more popular than he is.

He is, however, one of us.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @newtojezebel: If you really are Balk, you'll post a comment as Balk claiming to be NTJ. Also, what is the birthmark on my penis shaped like?

bitchyenglishmajor

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @the cajun boy:
Or I could be shot by a cop, because he's yelling, "Halt, Halt Goddammit. You in the blue tee-shirt with the french obscenity. Halt or I'll shoot."...

I never heard a thing.


NotAndersonCooper

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Balk: I thought it might have been a joke because sometimes the humour here is a little harsh so I wasn't sure. But I'm you anyway so right now I'm responding to myself which seems like a waste of time.

And I doubt anyone here thinks you're a d__k anyway. You're obviously using that persona for entertainment purposes.

newtojezebel

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> So sorry to read about this. i've seen something similar and was very shaken, i remember it like it was yesterday. also, good luck with radar! i've been reading your stuff since tmftml (and gawker since elizabeth spiers, thank you very much + don't flatter yourself) and will continue to check in on you there.

rockin

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I've never wanted to buy you a drink more than I do after reading that, Balk.
You're a good egg.

DorothyMantooth

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I extend my sincere sympathies. In college, studying abroad, my friends and I discovered the body of a 21-year-old man who had drowned minutes before. We had seen him alive. My roommate was an EMT but couldn't help. It was horrifying. They took my beach towel to cover his body.

Sargasm

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @NotAndersonCooper: seriously, i've come dangerously close to getting hit because i zone out on long walks with the music in my ears. i have mentioned to friends that i really think that i will die getting hit crossing the street because of it. scary.

the cajun boy

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Balk, you must feel so terrible! I'm sure the guy that got hit doesn't feel half as bad as you! *Hugs*

ChupaCaBrooklyn

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I love my ipod, but it blocks out external noise and makes me effectively deaf as a pedestrian. As a result I've had a couple very close calls. Not sure what was involved in accident you witnessed, but I'll add to the PSA and remind people to keep their senses about them - specially their hearing.
Sympathy for the Devil is a great tune, but it almost killed me at Columbus Circle a couple weeks ago.


NotAndersonCooper

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Sayser: oops. Balk, take good care of yourself, too.

hhpeterson13

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @the cajun boy: Dude, you rule. Balk, thanks for sharing. You take of yourself, too.

hhpeterson13

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> ah heck, few things make a person feel smaller and more humble than realizing your complete helplessness. I crawled into a flipped car once to turn off the leaking engine. I had to crawl over the driver to reach the ignition. I couldn't take her out bc she was hurt and hanging upside down. Her 1 yr old daughter had crawled out the window and we whisked her up to my grandmotherly neighbors arms. The person who did save the mom was a firefighter I had gone to school with and had spent 4 yrs being stuffed in lockers. It happens, it sucks to witness it and look both ways before crossing...

maevemealone

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Understood, but in the nine years I've lived in Portland I've never seen that happen in front of me.

Not saying it DOESN'T happen here or anywhere else, just saying that in all the time I spent working and going to school in NYC (10 years) I've seen at least 5 incidents like this.

MercuryPDX

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I remember the morning after seeing something random and violent. I even called the police and the hospital, but they wouldn't talk. I felt that because I had made the 911 call, I responsible for something and/or I was owed an answer. I think I drank too much that month. Now when I remember her, I think a prayer for both of us.

scarcat

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I am so stoned right now.

justagirl

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Do these pants make me look fat?

MisterLincoln

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> It's strange that thinking about how arbitrary life really is emphasizes it's importance.

justagirl

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @MercuryPDX:@bitchyenglishmajor: Any street? Christ, even in Cincinnati, people hit people.

Alex, I am sorry this happened. Since I can't say that to the poor gentleman, I can at least say it to you.

People who think this is a joke suck.

Despite our snarkish tendencies, he still have hearts. And you've gotta have heart.

FUCK, I AM THE NEW NTJ.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @MercuryPDX: yeah i'm pretty sure NYC hasn't cornered the market on horrific displays.

SharonTaint

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @MercuryPDX: I don't want to imply that what he witnessed wasn't traumatic and awful but it happens in other cities also.

newtojezebel

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @MercuryPDX: "Only in NYC can you see something that horrific play out right in front of you."

Umm... Iraq?

bitchyenglishmajor

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Balk: This rivals the day I saw the results of "Bike Messenger v. Bus". My heart goes out to you. Only in NYC can you see something that horrific play out right in front of you. You were right to walk away and not interfere. Deep breaths... you can get through it.

MercuryPDX

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Balk: When I said, "I'm sorry," I meant it. I did not think for one second that what you'd written was a joke, Balk. What made me laugh, aside from mental illness, was the knowledge of what was to come in the comments section. I regret writing about it.

mathnet

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> The randomness of life is stunning isn't it? I came up against my first instance of unmitigated cruelty last week (cat put in three garbage bags to die) and while it's a cat, the energy that people spend to be cruel to a living thing was a revelation. Life is all so fragile and short and totally out of our control sometimes.

NinaHagen

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I've walked into the aftermath of a fatal shooting--two dead, one horribly wounded--just after the shooter fled and before the police showed up. At first I thought someone was just ill, but then--oh.

.
I'll never forget Donald Trump's reported reaction to the news that two of his top executives had been killed in a helicopter crash:
"I could have been on that flight!"

atipofthehat

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Yikes. That's awful. Poor man, and poor you. (and pore lolrus).

lululemming

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> The sympathy is appreciated, but honestly, I'm not the one that deserves it. I mean, yeah, I saw something awful, but it wasn't me splayed out on the street in a button-down shirt and tie with my eyes rolling about while some stranger cradled my head in what I have to assume were the kid's final moments. I'm sorry that there's anyone who reads this site that thinks for a second that this is some kind of a joke, but whatever: if you do, your opinion isn't really way the hell high up the list of those that matter to me.

Balk

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> That's terrible, Balk. I'm rattled just reading it. I kind of want to hug you. Sorry if I've crossed the earnesty line, everyone.

PimpMyCouch

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Conbon: Also, not as generally moronic as the other statements. That's the problem I have with NTJ - inconsistent tone.

ae38

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Ech. Sorry for the poor victim, sorry you too Balk.

The father of a work friend was killed by a hit and run a couple of years ago. Since then I've been much more careful about crossing against the light. Because it made stories like this all too real.

Despite all the snarky comments, I'm glad you posted this. Makes me realize how much we'll miss you.

And do look both ways when you cross the street.

SarahHeartburn

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @Conbon: Conbon, you need to join the get-together over at the Elijah Pollack post. All of the old-timey avatars are having a conference call later. My avatar is going on a date with Rock Hunter later...

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Sympathies.

Awful.

Smitros

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @ae38: This one really pushed me over to team Hoax. A Popsugar reference? Totally out of character.

Conbon

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @BrianVan: I think that might be a tie-in to the "Dexter" ad. But it is creepy.

But, be careful out there. We don't want this to happen to anyone... well, except Spencer Pratt.

dweeb

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @htotheomo: If it is, it's actually kind of funny.

bitchyenglishmajor

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @the cajun boy: And that's no joke.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Fucking Thursdays.

Conbon

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @the cajun boy: Clairvoyance is one of those mixed blessings.

mathnet

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @the cajun boy: I'm pretty sure its Choire. Or maybe the entire editorial staff. Its one of those "too good to be true" things.

ae38

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Today I saw an old woman on O2 fall at the medical center I work at. I was able to help, but it threw my entire day off. I'm an accountant, not a health care provider, so it's rattling to be involved in actually helping someone.

If I saw what you saw, I wouldn't have been able to help.

Point (finally): Unless you're being cruel, you're doing the best you can do.

htotheomo

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> @newtojezebel: the same question and answer has been bantered around in regards to you my dear.

the cajun boy

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> so i guess it's not as cool to see a human struck by an automobile as dane cook claims it to be?

the cajun boy

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Is this a joke?

If it is it's not very funny.

newtojezebel

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Is that why there's blood splattered on the Gawker logo right now?

Dude, that totally sucks. Last thing I'd ever want to have to carry around with me for a couple of days.

BrianVan

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> Yikes. How horrible. I witnessed a really terrible car accident a couple years ago and got to see some similarly awful carnage. I suggest booze. Drinking may not be the answer, but it helps you forget the question.

Colonel Mustard

]]> <![CDATA[Things I'd Rather Forget]]> I'm sorry, but nothing has made me laugh so hard all day.

mathnet

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