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Friends Don't Let Friends Drink and Sprint

Filed under: Imported

The other night I attended a goodbye party for my friend Dan at the Turf Club. I arrived home from this gathering at a rather late hour, about 1:30 a.m. When I pulled up to my house there were three twenty-something gentlemen standing in the middle of the street. They appeared, by their voluble behavior, to be somewhat intoxicated. This is not an uncommon occurrence given that there are two saloons--a gay bar and a Hmong sports bar--within 100 feet of my front door.

The trio seemed unconcerned by my presence so I stood on my wheelchair ramp and observed. I was mainly concerned that they might decide to engage in fistificuffs or some other troublesome behavior.

As I watched, two of the gentleman--one black and one Asian--retreated to the corner of Dale Street, about 75 feet to my left. The other gentleman, also of Asian descent, moved about 20 feet to my right. It became apparent to me at this point that they planned on engaging in some kind of sporting contest. It was not clear, however, whether there was any money being wagered on this endeavor, or if merely barroom bragging rights were at stake.

As I contemplated this question, the fellow to my right waived his arm in the air and the two contestants began sprinting down the middle of the street. After about 10 steps, however, the black gentleman slipped on the asphalt and hit the ground very hard. The other guy won the race.

At this point I decided to go inside. I was worried that they might determine retroactively that spectators weren't welcome at their sporting contest.

I'm uncertain if there was a rematch.

Posted by Paul Demko at November 20, 2004 12:35 PM

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