World of distraction brings unwanted action - #lakewoodnews

I was reading an article about distracted driving when the phone rang.Tattered Cover was calling. The caller said that someone wanted a personalized copy of my book.Just as she was telling me the buyer's name, Smitty barked because there was someone at the door.But I swear the caller said "Connie."I thanked her and answered the door.It was the FedEx man."I have a delivery for Mrs. Calabash."The phone rang again."There's no one here by that name," I said.The dog was barking, the phone was ringing, and someone who wanted to aerate my yard -- "Half off, today only," he said -- was standing next to the FedEx man.I got it all sorted out and went to the Tattered Cover on Santa Fe, and signed one of my books, "To Connie. As Hemingway said, `There is no friend as loyal as a book.'"Later I heard that a woman named Bonnie came in, was handed the book, and said, "Who's Connie?"Some of us are distracted to death by our distractions.My little narrative had no such consequences.We found Mrs. Calabash, and I signed another book for Bonnie.It doesn't always turn out that way with distractions.In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 were injured, in automobiles because of distracted drivers.I see distracted drivers all the time.Mostly someone is on a hand held phone.Texting and driving is illegal in Colorado.So is littering.Both happen anyhow, and probably always will.Texting and driving isn't much different than drinking and driving.I have seen drivers slow down and speed up, change lanes without signaling, and weave in their lanes.Texting or drunk?Maybe both.The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration reported 9,967 people were killed in the United States in alcohol-related crashes in 2014.I hear the same excuses from texters and drunks."I need to change my behavior."Maybe tomorrow.If you have been around the block like I have, you have heard the word "yet.""I haven't caused an accident."Yet.There have been some real pips.One that stands out didn't involve automobiles.It was the 2008 Chatsworth, California, train collision.A Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on.The Metrolink's train engineer was texting, and missed a signal.There were 25 deaths.We are warned all of the time, everywhere we go."Don't do this.""Don't do that."There are warnings on just about everything.Kids were eating those laundry detergent pods.They now come with a warning.Many of us ignore warnings.Then you get a call from the police, and in the next 20 seconds your life changes forever."Your daughter ..."We tend to seek our own levels of behavior, no matter what.Tomorrow or the next day, a friend or a celebrity will overdose.We all know better, but we just keep doing what we do.We keep doing what we do, and hope that we get lucky and stay lucky.In Minnesota in February, a suspected distracted driver's car went airborne and landed on a 22-year-old woman's car.Megan Goeltz, 22, was killed. She was raising a 3-year-old on her own, and working at a nursing home.How many lives were affected?The curb weight of my Subaru is about 3,800 pounds. I don't know the math. What is 3,800 pounds times 65 mph?Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://douglascountynewspress.net/stories/World-of-distraction-brings-unwanted-action,213002?branding=15