Motorcycle Stories

I was on my way to school when I saw two uniformed teen-agers riding in a jeepney smiling and waving their hands at me. I waved back and smiled. They were my last year’s pupils.

One thing about being a teacher is I see and hear a lot of children and teenagers (some I can remember and some I can’t) smiling, calling and sometimes shouting “sir” at me. I have a lot of fans, like most school teachers. If I may say.

A couple of months ago, I almost had a motorcycle accident when a group of children riding in a tricycle shouted “Sir George.” I turned my head for a quick glimpse and saw my former pupils smiling and waving their hands at me. I smiled and waved back.  When I turned my head, in that fraction of a second,  the jeepney in front of me made a sudden stop and I almost hit it. If I was a split second late, I would have hit the jeepney's rear bumper and I might have even injured the lady alighting from the jeep. My heart was in my throat.

I have learned my lesson. Now, whenever I am on my motorcycle and hear my name being called, I stop to look or I just ignore whoever is calling me.

Driving to and fro our school requires a lot of concentration. Aside from the fact that the school is located on a sloping hill hence the road is on a sharp slope, and the entrance to the school is also on a sharp slope which puts stress on my motorcycle’s engine, (I don't know if I'm making any sense here.) There are also children zooming in and out of the road. I sometimes imagine my motorcycle losing its break and plowing through pupils walking and crossing the street to and fro the school.

Last year I had an accident. I was on my motorcycle on my home driving very slowly while watching the children running down the slope. In my head I was thinking that one of these children would swerve and run across the street to evade a chasing classmate. So I drove very slowly near the sidewalk. Then it happened, a running pupil suddenly swerved hitting me and the motorcycle. I almost fell.

I stopped and checked the pupil. I asked him if he was alright. He just smiled and continued on running. The bystanders who saw what happened just shrugged their heads and smiled.

I was waiting for a visit from a parent or a call from the office about the incident but nothing came.