Things ain't what they used to be

When I was a young girl my mom got hit by a drunk driver. She was attending night classes at a local technical college and was waiting for the bus.

I don't mean to make it sound more serious than it was. But then again, when has a drunk driving accident ever been not serious.

As I had said, my mom was waiting for the bus when a truck jumped the curb in her direction. Luckily she had time to take a few steps back. The truck ran over her foot, knocking her over. She was lucky that there were a few other students waiting at the busstop that night. These amazing people rushed to my mom's aid. One stayed with her to make sure she would be ok while another bolted to a nearby phone booth to get help. Another super heroic guy jumped into the back of the truck to get the driver to stop, otherwise it would have been a hit and run. The details of the whole ordeal are not really clear to me as I was fairly young. I recall seeing gross pictures of my mom's foot (she had had to undergo surgery to fix it) and when I was a little older I came across pages from a transcript of the trial for the drunk-driving hit-and-run. I'm not sure if the driver got punished, though in all likelihood he did, and if so to what extent. However, I am grateful that those strangers helped out my mom without any hesitation.

Yesterday, I had read an article in the paper about a young lady who had died in the middle of a street. A victim of a hit and run. As I read the article further I felt absolutely chilled. As of the time the article was printed, they could not determine as to whether perhaps she had been hit more than once. That is to say, there was a possibility she could have been struck again while she was already on the road dying. Let this sink in for a minute; at least one, but possibly more, heartless driver(s) hit this young woman and sped off on their merry little way. They didn't stop to see if she was alright, and it is apparent that they didn't even call to get assistance for her. Noone knew there was a life fading away out there on the street, dying alone.

Actually, that's a lie, and it sickens me even more. I can no longer quote the article word for word but apparently there had been "witnesses" at "various points" of the "event." Those 4 words I remember clearly.

That's right, witnesses. Plural. More than one.

And I'd really like to know what "points" of the "event" these witnesses actually saw. I can't imagine why noone called for help. If they saw her get hit the first time then why not at least call an ambulance? If they didn't see the accident, but saw the young lady hurt and laying in the middle of the road, why didn't they check to see if she was alright? Or even assuming that all they witnessed was the subsequent hit and run incident, these witnesses were still not motivated enough to report it???

What is going on here? I love this city with all my heart. I've always felt safe here. Most importantly, I've always felt that I was in good company amongst the other citizens of Calgary. But with this news, I feel cold.

I used to spend two weeks of my summer in a bigger Canadian city visiting with family. By the end of those 14 days I was more than ready to return home. This city, even my relatives who lived there, had a selfish, negative vibe about them and it would "corrupt" my mood during my stay. It was as if the citizens of this city wouldn't care less if you fell down in the middle of the sidewalk. Even worse, they would probably scowl at you for getting in their way.

After reading that article I am concerned that Calgary may be evolving in the same manner. We're growing at a crazy fast rate (almost one million people!). Must a bigger city coincide with an apathetic and selfish attitude necessarily? I sincerely hope otherwise.