![]() “Thanks, but please give Kirk a big hug, Charlie. He SOLD the bike! You saved our marriage!” Beaver, immediately after our Zoom chat, Reggie had me follow him to a motorcycle dealer. “Reggie, who do you love more - your wife and daughter or the motorcycle?” Later that dayĬharlie called my cell phone. I closed our Zoom session with this question: It was the last time that I rode a motorcycle.” The visible memory of that incident was a destroyed helmet and, today, an almost invisible scar on my chin, the only part of my head that came into contact with the road. Witnesses said that I hit the pavement headfirst. I entered a curve covered in sand and lost control. “Reggie, I was 21, riding a friend’s motorcycle on Highway 126 near Santa Paula, Calif. After a decent interval, while tucking her into bed, another man says to Julie, ‘Sweet dreams, honey,’ and she replies, ‘Love you, Daddy.’ And then Charlie shares what had been your bed with that same man. For all those wonderful years Charlie has loved you and given you Julie, your beautiful daughter who’s just crazy about her daddy, and then the accident changed everything. You are now permanently brain-damaged, with a family that has lost its main income source. “Reggie, now, picture riding your motorcycle and discovering that asphalt really is harder than an unhelmeted head. He is my world, and I don’t want our daughter to grow up without his love,” she said, sobbing. Beaver! I am so afraid each time he gets on it, especially without a helmet! I love him. “Losing him because of that horrible motorcycle, Mr. “Reggie, I want you to look at Charlie and tell me what you fear most.” Some people feel these are infringements of our constitutional rights, but the government has a duty to protect its citizens and that trumps claims of ‘it’s my right to not vaccinate my dog.’ You all agree, right?” Requiring us to wear seat belts and get rabies vaccinations for our dogs are examples of health and safety laws which are obligations that protect us and that we owe to others. “Our government should act in and for the public good. “Yes, I am,” she said, reaching for a Kleenex. You are terrified of losing him, of your daughter losing her dad.” “These are difficult times for you, aren’t they, Charlie? Because Reggie doesn’t need a motorcycle, but he rides one and without a helmet. “And you’re right! In a way, it does, as I will explain, but first, you and Charlie were high school sweethearts, and when you got married, everyone said it wouldn’t last. Reggie, I understand that you feel the requirement for you to wear a motorcycle helmet takes away from your freedom and constitutional rights. But I have a feeling that what we are dealing with goes well beyond wearing a helmet. “Our situation is identical to the same arguments made against requiring the use of automobile seat belts decades ago. “We all wear seat belts when driving, and know it is a good thing, right?” Let’s all listen to each other and not just hang up in anger. I began my discussion with Reggie and Charlie by saying, “I need your help.
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