Copyright 2000 -- Robert Baer Jr All of the characters and/or background in this story are the sole property of Robert Baer Jr. Wayside Charlie -- "Spike's Accident" One a sunny Saturday afternoon we find Spike Bulldog riding his skateboard on the street. He wrecklessly does a few 'jumps' and pops some 'wheelies' in front of people as he passes them by. He even crosses a busy intersection on his skateboard in front of Officer Collie, who happans to be on foot patrol in the area. "SPIKE BULLDOG!" she shouts as he speeds by,"STOP RIDING LIKE THAT BEFORE YOU GET HURT!" But Spike is already blocks away from Officer Collie, laughing to himself as he dashes from alley to alley. "This is the life!" he shouts to himself,"I'm the greatest skateboarder in the world! Nothing can get in my way now!" As he is speaking, his skateboard hits a pothole in the road. Spike is flung headlong into the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The stunned bulldog cries in pain, he'd had the wind 'knocked out of him' as is barely able to move or speak. He looks up and sees his friend Joe Mole running by. He shouts out for help. "Sorry, Spike," Joe said as he stood running in place,"I can't stop now, I'm late for karate practice, bye!" As Spike sadly watching Joe run off, he looks around and sees another of his friends, Frank Badger, waliking by holding two sack of groceries. Spike yells out for help, but Frank stands there and shakes his head. "Spike," Frank explained,"my mom sent me out to the store for her, I have to get all of this frozen food home before it thaws out. Sorry I can't stay and help you." Spike can hardly believe it, two of his best friends have left him bleeding on the sidewalk. On the other end of the street walks Wayside Charlie and his friends Juanita Bunny, Jimmy Fox and Sasha Bear. "What a beautiful day!" Charlie comments,"not a cloud in the sky!" "Yeah!" Juanita adds,"I'm so glad it's Satudray!" "So, what are we going to do today?" Sasha asks. "There's a good monster movie playing this afternoon," Jimmy says with a smile,"why don't we all go see that?" "Monsters?" Juanita said with a surprised look on her face,"Ewwwww! I'd rather see something else." "And what's wrong with a monster movie?" Jimmy said defensively. "Wait, guys, maybe we can go see ......" Charlie stops in mid-sentence when he looks down the street and sees Spike laying on the sidewalk,"look over there! It's Spike! We gotta help him!" The four friends run over to Spike, who is still out of breath and barely able to move. "SPIKE! SPIKE!" Charlie shouts,"are you alright?" Spike can only look up at Charlie and moan. "Juanita, go down to Miss McGregor's store and borrow her first aid kit," Charlie says as he turns to Jimmy and Sasha,"Jimmy, Sasha, find a phone and call the police." "Didn't we see Officer Collie as we were walking over here?" Sasha asked. "Good thinking!" Charlie answered,"Sasha, find her and bring her here." "Will do, Charlie!" Sasha says as she runs off. "Don't you think we better get him off the sidewalk, Charile?" Jimmy asked. "Not yet!" Charlie replies,"they say you should never move an injured person, it might make it worse if they have any broken bones." "I got the first aid kit!" Juanita shouts in the distance as she approaches with Miss McGregor following behind her. Miss McGregor stoops down and begins to examine Spike. "It's a good thing for you that I'm a former registered nurse, young man!" Miss McGregor said sternly,"tell me, where does it hurt, son? "All.....over...." Spike moans. Miss McGregor takes the first aid kit and treats all of Spike's bruises. In the meantime Sasha has returned with Officer Collie. "SPIKE!" she shouts,"I'll call for an ambulance, how is he?" "Well," Miss McGregor begins to explain,"he's taken a nasty tumble. No broken bones that I can detect, has a number of cuts and bruises which I've just treated him for." "It's a good thing you came along, Miss McGregor!" Officer Collie said with a smile. "Don't thank me, ma'am," Miis Gregor said as she stood up,"thank Charlie and his friends! Juanita came to my store and told me what happaned." "And Sasha came and got me!" Officer Collie said with a grin as she turned to the gang,"looks like you kids knew exactly what to do! I'm very proud of all of you!" "Thanks, Officer Collie!" Charlie said with a nod,"we had to help Spike, it was the right thing to do!" Officer Collie reached for her cell phone to call the hospital and Spike's parents. As Spike lay still on the sidewalk, he motioned for Charlie to come over to him. "I don't understand..." Spike said to Charlie,"why did you and your friends help me? I've always been teasing you and calling you names and ..." "Hey, don't worry about that now," Charlie said with a smile,"and Jimmy found your skateboard, it's in better shape than you are!" "Thank you, Charlie," Spike said as he tried to hold back his tears,"you guys are the best!" "Spike!" Officer Collie said as she looked down at him,"you were very lucky not to be seriously hurt. You know better than to skateboard on busy streets and without wearing any safety gear." "Am I in trouble again, ma'am?" Spike asked sadly as he looked down to the ground. "Well, I could write you up for safety violations," Officer Collie said calmly,"but I have I feeling you're learning a very hard lesson right now. I've called for an abulance, your parents will be here shortly also." Spike was a very lucky young man today. He was transported to the hospital, but was soon released after being examined by the emergency room doctor. He was also lucky to have people like Charlie, Juanita, Jimmy and Sasha who lent him a helping hand in his time of need. Good Samaratians are hard to find these days, but not impossible to find. Always help those in need, even if it's your worst enemy. This is what Jesus would do, isn't it?