STORY BEHIND ARTHUR AND THE STREET
SWEEPER
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This poem and story occurred many years back and was
written now due to numerous requests for the story, since it was mentioned
in the last poem Car Wash.
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Art Chinn was working in Traffic Division at the time,
and was riding a full dress Harley Davidson motorcycle. He had pulled over
to the side of the road to write some notes on a ticket he had just given
out and also, like any good traffic man, to wait for the next offender
to come along.
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A city street sweeper was travelling down the road,
the driver apparently quite intoxicated. He states he didn't see Art or
his motorcycle. He did admit feeling a bump in the road around the area
where Art was found.
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Well it seems that he did not see anything in his path,
probably due to the alcohol induced fog he was in. He drove right over
top of Art and his bike and dragged both down the road for quite a distance.
Art was dragged up inside the brushes, which ripped off one boot and tore
his uniform to pieces. Art didn't fare too well either, sustaining a broken
left ankle, torn knee ligaments, 5 broken ribs, a broken wrist and a dislocated
shoulder, all down his left side. He also sustained a concussion and some
internal injuries as well. Things were touch and go for awhile and Art
was in hospital for a lengthy stay.
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The happy side to the story is he did survive and returned
to full duty sometime later. It certainly was not funny at the time due
to the seriousness, however the circumstances were funny even then. In
the ensuing years this story has become lodged in the folklore of our department,
and when the incident with the Car Wash (detailed in the last poem) happened,
it resparked the memories of this incident.
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Art had always said he was disappointed that a poem
had not been written, but I have corrected that oversight now. So with
Art's blessing, enjoy the story and poem on his encounter.
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