Goodbye Shogun

As of yesterday, I had to mourn the loss of one of my most valued assets that accompanied me almost everywhere around UVa's campus. As I cruised on 13th street on the Corner in a hurry to return to campus for an appointment, I was pedaling with all the strength I could. The sun was bright, the street was a rainbow of cars with different colors, the weather was blistering cold. As I was absorbing all of these stimuli of the weather around me, boom! I lost consciousness for about a split second. The last thing I could remember before blacking out was flying onto the sidewalk with my feet strapped into the buckles of my Shogun. Once I regain conscious, I sprung back on my feet trying to configure what had just happened. I was numb before realizing that I scraped my hand. I realized that I had just been hit by a car! For some reason, I felt like this was an achievement that a biker like myself had always anticpated, the kind of story that you could brag about to your grandkids someday. But before my arogance could kick in, the shell shock led me to think solely of God. I couldn't stop thanking his protection of me.

The car's driver, Sean, got out of the car and helped me up. The first words that came out of his mouth were, "Let me give you my information...." I didn't know what he was talking about... I just wanted to get back up and hurry to make it on time to my appointment. He kept insisting to give me his information. He kept apologizing. I could tell that the only thing on the back of his mind was the fear that I was going to sue him. At first I couldn't imagine that all of his courtesy was out of mere altruism until I realized later on that he was fearing that I would take legal action against him because he was obviously wrong taking a turn in the bicycle lane.

The first thing I did upon getting up was checking on my Shogun; to my great dissatisfaction, there was a huge dent in the frame of the bicycle and it when I got on it again, it would wobble while riding it. I was upset, but I didn't want to scare Sean, so I assured him that everything was fine. I was mistaken to know that people don't deal with ethical values in the States, but by the rule of law.

After taking my Shogun to its grave, the Community Bikes warehouse, I was informed that it was done for. I was disappointed to have lost my primary means of transportation. Luckily, I had taken Sean's contacts. Later that night, I phoned him to thank him for being so kind in helping me out during the accident. Luckily, I was fine, but I thought it to be decent and fair for him to compensate me with a new bicycle and I told him frankly that I was entitled to a new road bike that was comparable to my Shogun. Once he realized that I was physically fine and that I would not be able to press charges against him, he showed his true color and began holding back by telling me that he did not owe me anything for the losses I had incurred. It was then that I resorted to the rule of law. If you can't deal with an American on an ethical level, then you'll have to take him on a legal level, where there is no question about one's legal rights.

Even though he was holding back on compensating me for the $200 I had cashed out for the Shogun, his insurance assured me that they were willing to compensate me with a comparable bike, even if it cost over $1000. Trying to talk ethics to this guy got me no where, but when we resorted to the law, it was a just and fair procedure that resulted in a win-win situation. The law gives every person his share of rights. I realized this is one cultural difference between the Arab world and America. Trying to argue with the guy about decency, morality, and ethics got me nowhere, but when we resorted to the law, my prerogatives came to the forte. Hence, it is the justice of the rule of law that really oils the gears that make the American system the most efficient.

I continue to thank God for saving me and I am grateful for the Shogun being the victim instead of me, but if there's anything that I took away from this experience is that I have learned to see a new cultural difference that is expanding my outlook of how America works.